Pesticides public information

California Department of Food and Agriculture, Division of Pest Management, Environmental Protection and Worker Safety, Pesticide Safety Information Series. "Chlorinated Hydrocarbons," C-1.C-2/HS-696 and 652, Publication No. HS-641 (Rev. Oct. 1, 1985). 

Catalog of OPP Publications and Other Information Media, EPA 730-B-94-011, Mat. 1994,105 pp available from Communications Branch, Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 

Manufacturers and specialist materials development associations publish extensive corrosion data in the form of monographs, and this form of presentation is also used in national standards. The most recent comprehensive text in this category is perhaps the publication by the Zinc Development Association . The work is important in that the section on chemicals also deals with common, though complex, chemical formulations, e.g. Are-extinguisher fluids, soaps and syndets, agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers. This publication also demonstrates the mammoth task of recording all the available data for just one material. A comparable book for mild steel would probably be much larger, whereas for many other materials the information has not yet been determined. Thus at best, only very incomplete data are available in this form. 

The principles of validation of residue methods for food, water and soil are generally the same. However, not all procedures and requirements are identical. From the public s point of view, the information on residues in food is probably the most important task. Compared with the other two areas (water and soil), the food sector is characterized by the largest number of regulations and legal limits. Therefore, this overview of validation requirements of enforcement methods will focus on methods for pesticide residues in food. 

The host of new synthetic organic pesticides presents a variety of problems to the practicing physician because of the lack of basic fundamental information on these chemicals. The American Medical Association has organized a committee on pesticides to consider the following problems of economic poisons and to coordinate information and make it available to physicians and other interested persons or groups safe standards of use, development of prophylactic and antidotal measures, voluntary industry controls, standardization of nomenclature, and professional and public education. 

Undertake an Intensive Educational Program. A program of information on health benefits derived from the wise use of pesticides and the health hazards associated with their misuse is greatly needed. The educational facilities of the American Medical Association, consisting of ten professional journals and the lay publication, Today s Health, will be available to the committee. In addition, the inquiry service which is conducted by the various departments, councils, and bureaus of the American Medical Association will be coordinated in order that letters of committee interest will receive their mutual attention. 

Two concerns arise which CSIN administration has not addressed so far. First, the emphasis has been to provide access only through well-established existing sources. No apparent effort has been made to consider the need for drawing together the multiplicity of information submitted to the EPA Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances in an easily accessible form for agency use. With the exception of information contained in the Chemicals In Commerce Information System (CICIS), developed primarily to accommodate TSCA Inventory and other related information, regulatory personnel often are not aware what is already available and request repetitive submissions from industry. Furthermore, conclusions are drawn only from publicly available data-bases. Data already available within the agency are not readily accessible for its own personnel. Apparently, this situation is a result of non-responsiveness, so far, to TSCA Section 10 s mandate. 

The Rachel Carson Council follows in the footsteps of its namesake to inform the general public about the effects of pesticides not only on human beings-especially children-but also on other living organisms and biological systems. 

Another publication, "Handbook for Pesticide Disposal by Common Chemical Methods" ( ), was also published In 1975 by EPA. This report evaluated 20 common pesticides and concluded that only 7 could be disposed of by alkali and/or acid hydrolysis. A detailed procedure for disposal by hydrolysis of the specific pesticides was also given. However, again, the Information was of limited utility. A follow-up report covered another forty pesticides... 

Significant activity is occurring in assessing hazardous waste incineration in both the private and public sectors. Much of the information gained from this effort will be directly applicable to our knowledge of the incineration of pesticides and pesticide-containing wastes. 

The U.S. Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (TSCA, Public Law [Pub. L.] 94 69) in 1976, to become effective 1 January 1977. The act authorizes US-EPA to secure information on all new and existing chemical substances and to control any of these substances that could cause an unreasonable risk to public health or the environment. Dmgs, cosmetics, foods, food additives, pesticides, and nuclear materials are exempt from TSCA (US-EPA 2006a). 

ISI is available in hard copy and electronically at EPA s headquarters and regional libraries, and through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The electronic form may be installed on IBM PC-compatible computers or placed on local area networks, and run under Microsoft WINDOWS or WordPerfect s Library program. The Macintosh version is no longer available. The 1993 update will include the ISI hardcopy, PC disks, and the PC system user manual. EPA also publishes ACCESS EPA, which provides sources of information, databases, and publications within the EPA. Chapter 5 of that publication includes important environmental databases in air and solid waste, pesticides and toxic substances, water, and cross-program (110). EPA also provides databases accessible through EPA libraries, which describe the private EPA and commercial databases available to library users (111). 

The attention of those concerned with occupational exposure to pesticides has turned from immediate acute effects to chronic effects. The California regulations lists chronic health effects as a criteria for special reentry studies. The EPA, in their first public draft of reentry guidelines, also lists chronic effects as a criteria to be utilized in setting reentry intervals. One problem with this is determining what constitutes a chronic health effect and what information should be used It is clear that animal studies which unequivocably demonstrate onco-... 

The NZTDS thus provides a reliable snapshot of the overall quality and safety of the NZ food supply, and is a means (albeit not ideal) of checking the effectiveness of regulatory systems established to control pesticide residues in food. Total Diet Studies are also valuable in determining whether particular pesticide residues occur across the diet as a whole, or are restricted to certain food groups or even individual foods. The NZTDS provides readily understandable information on the dietary exposures of pesticide residues for the use of regulatory agencies, lawmakers and the public. 

The Pesticide Index (ref. 14) lists the following categories of pesticides acaricides, attractants, chemosterilants, defoliants, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, molluscicides, nematicides, plant regulators, repellents, and rodenticides. Listings are in alphabetical order with structural and molecular formulae for single chemical entities. Other data include CAS nomenclature and number Wiswesser Line Notation LD-50 and test animal data when available physical appearance and safety information. Also provided are a CAS nomenclature index separate molecular (line) formulae of chemicals identified by their common names a separate section of Wiswesser line notations, also with common names an appendix of manufacturers, and an appendix of recent publications dealing with pesticide names. 

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