By Clark Mindock

Law360 (June 11, 2020, 5:12 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Amazon and eBay to stop selling unproven or unapproved disinfectants that claim to be effective against the coronavirus, stepping up pressure on the companies Thursday after asking them to pull the products in April.

In announcing the orders, the EPA said the e-commerce giants have continued to sell unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticides and disinfectants in the U.S. in potential violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The retailers told Law360 that they are already conducting digital scans to ensure that they are keeping unapproved products off their marketplaces, consistent with previous discussions with the federal agency.

In the orders, the EPA highlighted products being sold that contain methylene chloride, a common ingredient in paint strippers. Other products noted in the order include chlorine dioxide, a chemical used as a disinfectant for water and agricultural products around the world. The EPA says many of the chlorine dioxide products being sold contain little or no English-language instructions.

The EPA said the companies are required to take the products off their websites and certify that they have done so or face fines for failing to comply.

"These stop sale orders to Amazon and eBay demonstrate the Trump administration's continued commitment to protecting the health and safety of Americans," EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. "We remain vigilant against the claims of producers that falsely assert their efficacy and safety. Of particular concern are products that falsely claim to be effective against COVID-19."

Pesticides and chemicals sold in the United States must be registered with the EPA, which develops risk assessments to determine whether the products pose a threat to harm humans, wildlife, fish, plants and other organisms. The agency also considers whether the use of the chemicals or pesticides poses a significant threat of contaminating groundwater.

The agency announced in March that it was streamlining the approval process for disinfectants to be labeled as effective against the coronavirus, including labels that say the product is effective against new viral pathogens. The agency then announced in April it was meeting with representatives of Amazon, eBay and other major websites like Facebook, Alibaba, Shopify, Qoo10, JoyBuy.com, Wish.com and banggood.com to prevent the sale of products that aren't proven to fight the coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Amazon and eBay were the only companies named in Thursday's order from the EPA. Representatives for both companies said that their platforms are actively searching for those products consistent with their discussions with the EPA.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company requires sellers to provide accurate information on product detail pages and that the company has put into place filters that block inaccurate coronavirus claims before being published in the store. The company has also developed specific tools that are constantly scanning "hundreds of millions of products" that those filters may have missed.

"Collectively, our efforts have blocked more than 6.5 million products. We removed the products in question and are taking action against the bad actors who listed them," the spokesperson said.

An eBay spokesperson said that the company has been in contact with the EPA on the matter and is "supportive" of the efforts to crack down on unapproved items.

"Since the outbreak, we have been employing a combination of digital and manual surveillance tools to remove products, like those marketed with the term 'coronavirus,' which violates our policies regarding making unsubstantiated health claims," the spokesperson said.

--Additional reporting by Mike LaSusa and Juan Carlos Rodriguez. Editing by Jill Coffey.

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