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.
Though the Montreal Protocol stipulates that developed countries would phase out the use of methyl bromide by 2005, there are loopholes within the agreement and countries, chief among them the US, ...
