FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1996                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
       UNITED STATES FILES SUIT AGAINST THE DISTRIBUTORS OF
                   BOGUS DRINKING WATER FILTERS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. --  The United States today charged the
owners of an Oregon water filter company and its affiliates with
selling drinking water filters and purifiers that were not
registered with EPA and making false health and safety claims
about their products' effectiveness.

     The civil suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Portland
by the United States Department of Justice on behalf of the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Trade Commission. 
It alleges that the defendants -- two individuals and the four
Oregon corporations with which they were affiliated -- sold
certain water filtering and purification devices with inaccurate
claims that they made water clean and safe to drink.

     The complaint seeks a court order preventing the defendants
from selling these products until they comply with federal law. 
The defendants sold an estimated $2.8 million worth of these
filters in 1993 and 1994 alone.
     
     The filters and purifiers contain silver or iodine and claim
to eliminate bacteria, viruses and parasites from contaminated
drinking water and are considered pesticides by the EPA.  The
company claimed such substances disinfect contaminated drinking
water.  Because they contain pesticides, the water filters and
purifiers are required to be registered with the EPA before they
can be sold or distributed.  The EPA will not register a
pesticide unless it does what it is supposed to do safely.

     The water filters and purifiers, which come in straws,
canteens and water bottles, were sold by the defendants under the
"Accufilter" tradename.  They were advertised for use in outdoor
sports, camping and travel.  They include:

     þ    The Accufilter 5 purifier straw, canteen and sports
          bottle containing activated carbon and iodine, said to
          be capable of effectively purifying up to 40 gallons of
          water contaminated by bacteria, protozoa, viruses and
          parasites; making water "safe" to drink.

     þ    The Accufilter 3 filter straws containing activated
          carbon and silver, said to be capable of filtering 50
          gallons of water, removing the taste of chlorine, heavy
          metals, herbicides, pesticides, organic poisons and
          other particulate matter causing bad taste, odor and
          color from water.  The filter was advertised as making
          water "clean" to drink.

     According to the complaint, the defendants claimed the
filters and purifiers made untreated water clean and safe to
drink by removing all bacteria, viruses and harmful chemicals. 
The complaint further alleges that scientific tests proved that
the claims about the effectiveness of the purifiers were false
and misleading.  The EPA believes that while activated carbon in
the filters will reduce levels of herbicides, pesticides, metals
and chlorine in water, it does not eliminate them.  Moreover,
activated carbon with silver does not eliminate all bacteria in
water and cannot remove protozoa and viruses.

     "People buy water filters and purifiers for one reason -- so
they can enjoy clean water.  The defendants in this case violated
the public trust and put profit ahead of the health and welfare
of their customers," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney
General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources
Division.

     "Registration of pesticides is critically important," said
Jed Januch, a pesticides compliance officer at EPA's regional
headquarters in Seattle.  "People who buy products such as water
filters and purifiers are depending on them to protect their
health."

     The complaint asks the Court to bar the defendants from
selling these or similar water filters in the United States and
abroad unless defendants comply with EPA requirements.  The
complaint also seeks an injunction prohibiting defendants from
future violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act in
connection with the sale of any water filter or purification
product, and in connection with any health or safety claim for
any sporting or camping equipment, and such other relief as the
Court finds necessary to redress injury to consumers.

     According to the complaint, the defendants sold the
unregistered water filters to buyers throughout the United States
and abroad.  The complaint also alleges that the illegal sales
and misrepresentations continued even after an EPA administrative
law judge in 1994 imposed a $70,000 civil penalty against one of
the companies and after one of the owners -- Bruce Spangrud --
had been indicted for knowingly falsifying information about the
water filters in an attempt to secure EPA approval of the
filters.  Spangrud was found guilty in a jury trial and is now
serving a 10-month prison sentence.  Because the $70,000 civil
penalty has never been paid, the complaint also seeks payment of
the penalty.

     In addition to Spangrud, Barbara Calise was also named as a
defendant along with a succession of business ventures (all
Oregon corporations) that she and Spangrud co-owned: 
Accuventure, Inc., Accufilter International, Inc., Outdoor
Dynamics, Inc. and World Sector, Inc.  All the firms were based
in Beaverton, Oregon, except for World Sector, which is based in
Tigard, Oregon.  
      
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