2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIVE - Agriculture (§§ 1 — 4706) › Chapter 37 - Pesticides (§§ 1001 — 1014) › § 1002 - Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
(a) Pesticide. — Shall include any substance or mixture of substances prepared, labeled, destined, advertised, or with the capacity to counteract, destroy, prevent, sterilize, repel or mitigate the action of any pest and any substance or mixture of substances that are prepared, labeled, or designed to be used as a defoliant, desiccant, and growth regulator of plants. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms “pesticide” and “pesticides” replace the phrases “economic poison” and “economic poisons”, respectively, wherever these terms appear in this chapter.
(b) Device. — Shall apply to any instrument, apparatus or contrivance, except a firearm, designed for trapping, destroying, repelling or mitigating the action of any pest or of any other form of animal or vegetable life other than bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms on or over man and living animals. The term does not include equipment used for the application of pesticides when sold separately.
(c) Person. — Includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or any other organized group of natural or juridical persons, whether they are incorporated or not. The term also applies to all the subdivisions of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any of its agencies, instrumentalities or structures.
(d) Secretary. — Refers to the Secretary of Agriculture of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or his authorized representative.
(e) Sticker or label. — Shall refer to any written, printed or stamped material on any pesticide or device and on any wrapping or receptacle used for the sale of any pesticide or any device.
(f) Labeling. — Includes all the labels, stickers, or any other written, printed or graphic material:
(1) Upon the pesticide or device or any of its containers or wrappers.
(2) Accompanying the pesticide or device at any time.
(3) To which reference is made on the label or literature accompanying the product, with the exception of those on which exact reference is made to the official publications of any branch of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or of any department of the government of the United States, of the experimental stations, state colleges or any other similar federal institution, or of those states that are authorized by law to conduct research in the area of pesticides.
(g) Ingredient statement. — Means the following:
(1) A clear statement of the name and percentage of each active ingredient, together with the total percentage of the inert ingredient, in the pesticide, and
(2) if the pesticide contains arsenic in any form, a statement of the total percentage of arsenic, as well as the percentage of arsenic soluble in water, each calculated as elemental arsenic, shall be included in addition to what is included in clause (1) of this subsection.
(h) Regulations. — Shall include all the rules, requirements, standards and practices promulgated by the Secretary under the authority of this chapter.
(i) Registration. — Is the action that every manufacturer of pesticides and devices in Puerto Rico should perform, as well as any representative or agent in Puerto Rico of the manufacturer of pesticides and devices produced outside of Puerto Rico and introduced to the Island, to register each pesticide or device every two (2) years with the Secretary. The Secretary shall establish through regulations, the requirements and responsibilities of the manufacturer(s), and the representative(s) or agent(s) of the manufacturer, with regard to the import and subsequent distribution and sale of the pesticide or devices in question in Puerto Rico.
This act by itself does not confer exclusive rights to the manufacturer’s representative or agent with regard to the importing and subsequent distribution and sale in Puerto Rico of the pesticide or device in question.
(j) Adulterated. — Shall apply to any pesticide if its degree of strength or purity differs from the standard stated on the label under which it is sold, or if any substance has been substituted, in whole or in part by said pesticide, or if any valuable ingredient thereof has been wholly or partly extracted.
(k) Misbranded. — Shall apply:
(1) To any pesticide or device if its labeling bears any statement, design, sketch or graphic representation relative thereto or to its ingredients which is false or misleading, or
(2) To any pesticide:
(A) If said pesticide is in a package or other container or wrapping whose use has been prohibited by the Secretary under the authority of subsection (n) of § 1005 of this title;
(B) if [it] were an imitation of, or is sold or distributed under the name of another pesticide;
(C) if the label does not contain the registration number of the establishment where the pesticide was produced, assigned by the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
(D) if any word, statement or information required by or under the authority of this chapter to appear on the labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness as compared with other words, statements, designs, or graphic matter in the labeling and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under normal conditions of purchase and use, or
(E) if the labeling accompanying it does not contain directions for use which are necessary and, if complied with, adequate for the protection of health and environment;
(F) if the label does not contain a warning or caution statement which may be necessary and, if complied with, adequate for the protection of health and environment;
(G) if the label does not bear an ingredient statement on that part of the immediate container which is presented and displayed under customary conditions or purchase, and in the container or in the outside container or wrapper, if there be one, through which the ingredient statement on the immediate container cannot be clearly read; except that a pesticide shall not be considered as misbranded if the size and form of the immediate container for retail make it impracticable to label the ingredient statement on that part of the container which is presented or displayed under customary conditions of purchase; and the Secretary permits the ingredient statement to appear prominently labeled on any other part of the immediate container or the outside container or wrapper;
(H) if the label does not bear a classification statement as to the use under which the product is registered;
(I) if the immediate container, and the outer container or wrapping of the retail package, should there be one, through which the information required in the immediate container cannot be clearly read, has no label with the following information:
(i) The name and address of the manufacturer (registrant) or person for whom the pesticide was manufactured;
(ii) the name, trademark or trade name under which the pesticide is sold;
(iii) the net contents of the product, stated in terms of weight or measure and in the form required by weight and measures legislation and regulations applicable in Puerto Rico;
(iv) the federal registration number assigned to the pesticide and the classification of the product as to its use, when this information is required by regulation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
(J) if the pesticide contains any substance or substances in an amount highly toxic to man, and the label thereof does not bear, in addition to any other information required under authority of this chapter, the skull and crossbones, the word “poison” conspicuously marked in red ink and clearly contrasting with the background color of the label and a statement of an adequate practical treatment in case of intoxication with the pesticide.
(K) That the Secretary deems it “mislabeled” for any other reason, or is deemed “mislabeled” by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
(l) Manufacturer. — Means any person who within or outside Puerto Rico manufactures, packs, repacks or processes in any other form pesticides or devices for sale or distribution in Puerto Rico.
(m) Puerto Rico. — Means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(n) Pest. — Means any life form that competes with man, animals and plants for food and nutrients; harms animals, plants, and man or his properties; constitutes a nuisance or causes discomfort to man and domestic animals; or spreads organisms that cause illness in man, animals and plants and that the Secretary declares as such under the regulations in effect.
(o) Plant regulator. — Means a substance or mixture of substances used to accelerate or delay through physiological action, the rhythm of growth or ripening, or to alter the behavior of plants or their products in any other way. Said term shall not include substances intended to be used as plant nutrients, minor elements, nutritional chemical products, plant inoculants and soil modifications. Nor shall it include any of the mixtures of nutrients or soil modifiers known as horticultural hormonal vitamin products, which are neither toxic nor poisonous in undiluted concentrations, packaged and intended for the improvement, maintenance, survival, healing and propagation of plants and not for the destruction of pests.
(p) Defoliator. — Means and includes any substance or mixture of substances intended to cause the fall of leaves.
(q) Desiccant. — Means any substance or mixture of substances intended to artificially accelerate the desiccation of the plant’s tissue.
(r) Certified applier. — Means any individual who is certified to acquire, use, or supervise the use of any pesticide, classified as of restricted use under the classification for which it is certified pursuant to § 1005a of this title.
(s) Private applier. — Means a certified applier who acquires, uses or supervises the use of any pesticide classified as of restricted use, in order to produce any agricultural product on a property owned or leased by him or her, or by his or her employer; or on the property of another person, as part of an exchange of services without any financial compensation whatsoever.
(t) Commercial applier. — Means a certified applier who acquires, uses, or supervises the use of any pesticide classified as of restricted use, and which is not covered by the definition of “private applier”. Any employee of a government agency or division who applies pesticides as part of the functions or duties of his position shall be deemed to be a commercial applier and shall comply with the regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
(u) To distribute. — Means to furnish any pesticide or device.
(v) To sell. — Means to offer any pesticide or device to any person in any way, in exchange for financial compensation.
(w) Manufacture. — Includes any form of processing pesticides or devices in Puerto Rico, including packing and repacking.
(x) Environment. — Includes water, air, earth, plants, animals, man, and any living organism and their interrelationship.
History —June 10, 1953, No. 49, p. 120, § 2; June 26, 1965, No. 100, p. 246, § 1; June 5, 1973, No. 91, p. 386, § 1; Oct. 30, 1975, No. 16, p. 804, § 2; July 20, 1979, No. 138, p. 326, § 1; July 12, 1986, No. 132, p. 415, § 2; Aug. 21, 1999, No. 278, § 1.