Amazon To Pay $2.5M Over Illegal Pesticide Sales

SEATTLE — Amazon has been ordered to pay up $2.5 million after the state of Washington found the company was illegally selling industrial-grade pesticides to consumers without the proper license.

According to the Washington State Attorney General's Office (AGO), Amazon flouted local laws that strictly regulate the sale of strong pesticides, including laws that require a license for those sales, and regulations that require sellers to collect information about how the pesticides will be used before the sale is finalized. The AGO also says Amazon failed to tell customers that these agricultural-use pesticides were different from common home and garden products, with potentially disastrous results.

Under a consent decree filed Monday in King County Superior Court, Amazon has been ordered to pay $2.5 million to the state as recompense for the previous sales, but will also be required to get a license to sell pesticides, and enact "specific and legally enforceable corporate reforms" that prevent future illegal sales, the AGO said.

“Amazon is a powerful corporation — but it’s not above the law,” said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson in a written statement. “I will continue to serve as an independent watchdog to protect consumers and our environment, and ensure this major Washington company complies with the law.”

Ferguson's office says these particular pesticides are heavily restricted for a number of reasons. If improperly handled, they could "severely" contaminate groundwater or nearby streams— potentially even harming local wildlife like Chinook salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales who rely on salmon for food. The chemicals can also cause skin irritation, breathing issues, and even neurological damage to human users: just one reason the AGO says it's particularly worrying that customers weren't warned of the dangers before making their purchases.

No injuries related to the illegal sales have been reported, but because Amazon didn't do its due diligence, it's unclear where some of the pesticides ended up, the AGO said:

"Amazon sold these regulated pesticides on its site without a license, and without verifying the licenses of Restricted Use Pesticide purchasers, or collecting other legally required information, like the intended use of the pesticide. Because of Amazon’s actions, there is no record of how or where the dangerous pesticides were used."

Until Amazon updates its processes and obtains the correct license, the company has suspended all sales of these pesticides on its website.