Does selling an antimicrobial air filter without EPA registration break FIFRA?

Does selling an antimicrobial air filter without EPA registration break FIFRA?

A device is not required to be registered under FIFRA section 3, and the company classifies the NanoFlashing™ Air Filter as a device under Section 2(h) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136(h), and 40 C.F.R. § 152.500(a).

The company does not give legal advice, and it does not comment on how a claim would be decided. C-POLAR does not describe NanoFlashing™ as an antimicrobial treatment, and it states that the filter has not been treated with a biocidal product and does not incorporate one. EPA has stated the test for a device in these words: “A device must work solely by physical means (such as electricity, light or mechanics).” NanoFlashing™ is a permanent positive polarity engineered into filter media itself. It is a physical property of the filter. A charge is a physical property. It is not a substance or a mixture of substances. The filter therefore incorporates no substance or mixture of substances to perform its intended pesticidal purpose. 40 C.F.R. § 152.500(b) lists the requirements that apply to a device instead: labelling; establishment registration and reporting; books and records; inspection of establishments; violations, enforcement and penalties; import and export; child-resistant packaging; and the Agency's authority under FIFRA section 25(c)(4). The company accepts that each of them applies to the article. No agency has approved, registered or cleared the NanoFlashing™ Air Filter. The company classifies the article itself. This classification is stated for that article. It is not stated for any other construction, any other size or any other product.

Source: Statement of Classification for the NanoFlashing™ Air Filter, sections 2.1, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7 and 4.1, issued by NF Technical Products Inc.; Statement of Regulatory Status for the NanoFlashing™ Air Filter, sections 2.5 and 3.5, C-POLAR Technologies, Inc., 11 September 2026; EPA, Compliance Advisory 305F20004 (October 2020), at 1, https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/documents/uvlight-complianceadvisory.pdf; 40 C.F.R. § 152.500, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-152/subpart-Z/section-152.500.

Reviewed on 21 September 2026.