Pioneer Hi-Bred International representatives have paid a $72,000 federal fine for failing to notify government officials that genetically engineered corn was growing near other crops in Waimea. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives levied the fine last month, and Pioneer officials
Pioneer Hi-Bred International representatives have paid a $72,000 federal fine for failing to notify government officials that genetically engineered corn was growing near other crops in Waimea.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives levied the fine last month, and Pioneer officials paid it last month, after EPA officials concluded Pioneer representatives didn’t promptly report the location of the seeds with the experimental gene, an EPA spokesperson said.
After paying the fine, Pioneer officials completed testing that met the agency’s requirement, both company and EPA officials concurred.
More specialized testing by Pioneer determined most of the initial positive results were false, and that the remaining 12 positive test results were from a U.S. Department of Agriculture-regulated field test, the EPA spokesperson said.
Douglas Tiffany, a Pioneer research scientist, said the delay in sending information to EPA stemmed from confusion over when it should be sent.
“In reporting our status, we had agreed to a specific time frame to report results back to the EPA,” Tiffany said. “We found out there was a misunderstanding on the time frame when we would submit preliminary results and when we would submit confirmed results.”
Tiffany said the delay in forwarding information to EPA was “regrettable, and we take full responsibility for it.”
The two EPA reporting conditions were part of an agreement agency officials reached with Pioneer representatives in a $9,900 settlement in December.
It dealt with Pioneer’s alleged mishandling of genetically modified seed corn grown under test conditions in west Kaua’i.
EPA officials contended Pioneer workers planted experimental corn in an un-approved location that was too close to other Pioneer seed-production corn projects. Pioneer officials denied any wrongdoing.
Related to current work scrutinized by EPA, Pioneer workers installed a “scientifically rigorous protocol” covering more than 300,000 plants or seeds since December, Tiffany said.
In December, EPA officials issued an order requiring Pioneer representatives to test seed corn, and report findings to EPA officials to assure an experimental gene grown in corn on Kaua’i had not found its way to adjacent Pioneer seed-corn fields.
During its latest testing, Pioneer officials discovered positive readings, that some experimental genes had mingled with other seed-corn plants, but the company didn’t report the findings to EPA within 24 hours as required, according to Dean Higuchi, an official with the EPA office in Honolulu.
Pioneer officials also didn’t submit maps to EPA officials identifying the location of the seeds within five days, as required in the December settlement, Higuchi said.
“When we negotiate an agreement with a company, we expect full compliance,” said Wayne Nastri, EPA Pacific southwest regional administrator. “Pioneer’s failure to report its test data and provide other information as required was a direct violation of our agreement.”
As required by EPA, Pioneer officials, to check the initial results, subsequently re-tested results, using more sensitive DNA tests.
The tests determined that most of the initial positive test results were false, and that the remaining 12 positive test results were from a USDA-regulated field test, Higuchi said.
Tiffany said the company knew of the condition of the 12 plants. “We detected them, and they were never really close to getting into the food chain in any way,” Tiffany said.
Higuchi said it did not matter that another round of tests proved mostly negative. The $72,000 fine was tied to the company’s non-compliance with EPA permit testing conditions, Higuchi said.
Pioneer workers subsequently destroyed the plants that tested positive before they could pollinate, and EPA officials are confident that corn that was intended for human consumption was not affected, Higuchi said.
Tiffany said the test work was contained, and never posed a danger to man or environment. “What the investigations showed was that they (EPA officials) were confident that the environment and the food chain were never at risk,” Tiffany said.
Pioneer workers contained “all the materials grown” under the EPA permit issued to the company for the work, Tiffany said.
EPA officials have also shared the test results with USDA officials, who are reviewing the information and investigating the incident, Higuchi said.
USDA officials will take appropriate action based on the results of their investigation, he said.
Tiffany said Pioneer continues to work with EPA and USDA officials on the matter. “We are cooperating with both agencies.”
Staff Writer Lester Chang can be reached at mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net, or 245-3681 (ext. 225).
