(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office filed a civil lawsuit against Syngenta Group citing environmental damage stemming from the production and sale of adulterated pesticides, according to a statement.

The move follows an inspection by the country’s environmental authority, Ibama, which found that a Syngenta product used large quantities of an antibacterial substance named Bronopol. In high quantities, the substance can be toxic, the Attorney General’s Office said.

Syngenta said that there was no risk of environmental damage. Brazilian regulators recently approved a new formulation of its Engeo Pleno product, and such approvals took into account levels of Bronopol, the company said.

The lawsuit calls for the company to be ordered to repair environmental damage and pay compensation. Judges were asked to freeze as much as 90 million Brazilian reais ($16.4 million) of the company’s assets for potential payments, in addition to possible suspension of access to financing via official credit facilities. 

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