Pesticides Toxicity Categories

Pesticides include the broad categories of insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and herbicides. Insecticides in common use fall into three categories. The chloroinsec-ticides have chlorine in their structure. They are less soluble than the other insecticide forms and much less biodegradable (i.e., more persistent). While they are less acutely toxic, several have been identified as potential carcinogens. Carbamatea are a relatively new form of pesticide. They are less persistent and less... 

Provides access to detailed information on all categories of pesticides including herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and rodenticides. Included is information on pesticide toxicity, health effects, residual data, efficacy, and other information. NPIC is a cooperative effort of the U.S. EPA and the Oregon State University Department of Agricultural Chemistry. NPIC is staffed from 6 30 a.m to 4 30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. 

Newborns are especially vulnerable to pesticides effects, since they do not have a fully developed immune system and adaptation mechanisms, or detoxification systems for foreign chemicals. A direct correlation between overall pesticide exposure in a given territory and primary illness in newborns [A101] was traced into even those territories of the Ukraine where the volumes of pesticides used were not extreme. The clearest expression of the pesticide exposure - primary newborn illness correlation is seen with pesticides of the second risk class (by toxicity), while the correlation is less clear for pesticides of the third and fourth categories. The most dangerous pesticides of all types for newborns are OCPs, with OPPs a close second [A101]. 

With the LCA analysis, the impact categories - the impact on climate, water pollution and air pollution - are mostly evaluated. Whereas, impacts such as biodiversity or pesticide toxicity are seldom evaluated because of methodological problems [34]. The LCA study consists of four basic stages Definition of objectives and the scope, Inventory, Impact assessment and Interpretation [32]. 

Moreover, the EPA Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances has grouped pesticide active ingredients into three different categories based on production and exposure potential. One of EPA s three categories consists of "low" production pesticides. The Agency defined this category as an annual production volume of 25,000 pounds or less. 

On high toxicity sites even with a very small amount of material escaping from the site, may have extreme consequences. Military Agents are high toxicity compounds which are designed to be lethal in very very small quantities. They are also extremely stable and hard to destroy. A number of industrial chemicals, particularly pesticides also fall into this category. Chlorinated solvents, PCB s and some pesticides, herbicides, and biocides fall into this category. 

We should keep in mind that the term "pesticide" refers to a chemical use category and not a specific chemical characteristic. It does impart the knowledge that a substance has toxic properties which can be used to advantage. Only with proper chemical characterization of residues found in the body and knowledge of their potential influence on homeostasis will it be possible to dispel popular misconceptions to the effect that pesticide chemicals are handled differently from other chemicals which enter the body or are unique in the hazards they present to the system. 

The use of closed systems has been required in California for transfer of toxicity category one liquid pesticides from the manufacturer s container into the mix tank and then into the application vehicle tank. It appears that this process has considerably reduced both dermal and inhalation exposure. The use of probes that are inserted and then removed from containers reduces dermal exposure up to ten-fold it also appears that the use of built-in probes further reduces exposure to the mixer-loader by up to another ten-fold factor in some cases. 

All of the top nine cotton pesticides in California are labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Category I or Category II materials, the most toxic classifications. 

The CWA has established discharge requirements for 129 individual toxic pollutants (VOCs, pesticides, metals and corrosives), known as priority pollutants, and conventional pollutants for 34 industrial categories (EPA, 1998b). Appendix 2 lists these pollutants, which are either individual chemicals or groups of chemicals of a similar nature. Aquatic toxicity testing and temperature measurements also often included into NPDES permits. 

Aliphatic and alicyclic amines form one of the most extensively used categories of compounds in a variety of manufacturing industries. These compounds are first-phase materials for chemical synthesis, intermediates, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, soil sterilizers, and several kinds of solvents, rubber products, rocket propellants, and plastic monomers. This chapter discusses the safety and toxicity of selected compounds handled by workers in different industries. More information and extensive literature are available in several study reports on members of this important group.31,32... 

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