Publications dealing with chemical pesticides

Figure 1. Variation in number of publications dealing with chemical derivatization techniques for pesticides from 1962-1978 ((-)-) total (including fungicides) (A) herbicides (O OC s (including Mirex, PCB s, etc.) (Q) DP s)...

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. 

At a certain level, this problem of overextrapolation also seems to be commonplace in the popular literature dealing with chemical mixtures. The scenario goes something like this. We know chemicals A and B are bad for us. At levels normally found in a certain environment, there apparently is no effect. However, results of studies on other chemical mixtures suggest that sometimes chemical effects are additive therefore, since A and B are present in our foods, albeit at very low levels, we should be concerned and ban their use until we can prove they are safe. This is the depth of many of the arguments that are presented to the public today. They might be credible if the mixture studies quoted were actually conducted on chemicals A and B. Often they are totally unrelated substances that show additive effects. Since they could be classified as pesticides or are agricultural chemicals, the results are assumed applicable to all pesticides at any concentration, conclusions which are a blatant misuse of science. 

Researchers are found in both the private and public sectors. Chemical companies dealing with apiary pesticides and other chemicals seek trained individuals for laboratory and field research. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of j riculture employs research scientists in their apiary units around the country. Additionally, some states have active apiary programs within their own departments of sericulture. At the state level, the trained apiologist may find duties both in a laboratory and in the field, inspecting hives. 

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. 

Size and complexity of the dietary supplement market are only a few of a number of difficulties that public health officials face when dealing with poisoning episodes. In North America alone, at least 700 plant species have been described as being poisonous in one way or another, and plant poisonings are often difficult to differentiate from environmental intoxications caused by pesticides and industrial chemicals and from adverse reactions to synthetic drugs (Der Marderosian and Liberti, 1988). Complicating the picture is the fact that symptoms of many intoxications mimic those of medical conditions not associated with a toxic exposure, and that establishing causality may therefore be difficult (Perrotta et al., 1996). 

IRPTC cooperates with the Commonwealth of Independent States Committee for Science and Technology and its successor body to produce an extensive series of mtxiographs which review the scientific literature in Russian on selected hazardous chemicals. Many titles deal with pesticides. A small number of specialised publications have been produced as a result of this cooperation, for example. Long Term Effects of Chemicals and Principles of Pesticide Toxicology. 

In most of developed countries, programs to monitor the presence of pesticides in the environment are being carried out, dealing with air, water and soil contamination. These programs detect exposures to pesticides or other chemicals that are likely to cause disease. The goal for public health agencies is to obtain the amounts of these pesticides that are to be found in the population [21]. 

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