Toxicological Aspects of Soil Herbicides

FIGURE 10.4 Structural formulas of three of the most widely used herbicides. 

Herbicidal 2,4-D selectively kills broadleaf weeds and is the most widely used of all herbicides worldwide on wheat, corn, rice, and other cereal grass crops. It is a synthetic auxin, or plant hormone that is absorbed through leaves, is transferred throughout the plant, and causes unsustainable growth that results in plant death. Fortunately, given its widespread use and human exposure, it has very low acute toxicity. It is possibly carcinogenic, a status shared with many other pesticides, and is a suspected endocrine disruptor (see Chapter 2, Section 2.16). 

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