Web Extra: Unseating Methyl Bromide

In the 1980s, a college dropout named Louis Champon left his father's essential oils business to find a plant-based product that repelled animals. He tested various combinations concocted at various locations - including his kitchen sink -- on animals at a shelter. He discovered that one chemical, made up of ingredients from pepper and mustard, doubled as an insect repellant when a sprayed cockroach in his home died instantly. He formed a company, now called Champon Millennium Chemicals, based in Herndon, Va., and set to work making a profit with an alternative to methyl bromide, which, since plant-based, had the potential to be much less toxic to humans and the environment. But proving that turned into a formidable challenge.