U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Ritchie Engineering Co. Inc., Garrett, IN, to immediately stop all activities involving improper labeling of its refrigerant recovery equipment. In addition, the company was ordered to immediately stop selling and distributing a new refrigerant recovery model that has not been certified.

EPA claims that Ritchie Engineering Co. Inc. has been selling model R60 refrigerant recovery unit with improper labels and has been making and selling model R70 unit without required certification by Under-writers Laboratories or Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute. The improper labeling and selling was discovered during an inspection requested by EPA in May 2000.

Under the EPA administrative cease and desist order, the company will not be allowed to continue selling and distributing the R60 model until it is properly labeled or the R70 model until it is properly certified and labeled.