Administrative fines are virtually the only enforcement tool, and state law limits them to $500 per violation. Fines cannot dent the budget of a multinational company such as Ag-Mart.

The state wants to know whether use of the toxic chemicals led to birth defects in workers' babies.

Ag-Mart Inc., one of Florida's largest vegetable growers, was ordered to pay $111,200 in fines for pesticide misuse in North Carolina and Florida.