A few thoughts on Pesticide Safety.

1
A few thoughts on Pesticide
Safety.
Jim Jasinski IPM Program - OSUE
2
Pesticide Safety

• Read the Label!!!
• Its very important
• Dont trust your memory
• Dont trust your neighbor
• Labels change
• Legally binding

3
Pesticide Safety

• How to select a pesticide
• Find your use (or target) first
• Application Target (plant, house, lawn, tree)
• Locate pest
• Q1. Pest is on label but not target, legal?
• Q2. Target is on label but pest is not, legal?

4
Pesticide Safety

• Mixing
• Dont share measuring utensils!
• Dont mix too much!
• Wear Personal Protective Equipment
• Gloves, eye protection, respirator, clothing,
  boots, etc.
• Dedicate sprayers for plants and insects

5
Pesticide Safety

• Applying
• Apply pesticides under prescribed conditions
• Not in the wind, not in the rain, not too cold or
  hot
• At the proper plant stage phytotoxicity,
  residue??
• Dont transfer pesticides out of original
  container
• Launder clothes in hot water w/ detergent

X
X
X
X
6
Pesticide Safety

• Follow the REI on label
• Restricted Entry Interval
• Time before you can re-enter treated area
• Follow the PHI on label
• Pre-Harvest Interval
• Time before you can harvest or eat fruit or
  vegetables that have been treated

7
Pesticide Safety

• When spraying insecticides.
• Be aware of Bees
• Spray late evening
• Spray early morning
• Avoid spraying when plants are flowering
• Avoid using products (Sevin) and formulations
  known to harm bees if possible

8
Pesticide Safety
X

• Disposal
• Make not, Waste not
• Spray excess material from sprayer according to
  label directions
• Dont flush down toilet, dont put in sink or
  sewer
• Save excess material for volume portion of next
  spray treatment
• Triple rinse, puncture or wrap, dispose in trash
• Take old or unknown product to Amnesty collection
  sites

9
Pesticide Factoids

• Degrade
• Light, Temperature, Rain, Soil Microbes
• Storage Life
• Not indefinitely!
• Dont freeze liquids
• Product Formulation
• Granules (largest) v. dusts (smallest)
• Liquids(EC) v. Wettable powders (WP)

10
Laymans Toxicology

• An Overview of Toxicology
• for
• Pesticide Applicators
• Developed by Don Mullins and Pat Hipkins
• Department of Entomology / Virginia Tech
  Pesticide Programs
• 1997

11
TOXIC
By their very nature, pesticides are

• Poisonous.
• Harmful to living things.

12
TOXICITY

• The quality of being
• poisonous
• having harmful effects.

13
TOXICITY

• Nothing is poisonous and everything is
  poisonous the dose determines the poison
• -Paracelsus, 1541 AD
• Auroleus Phillipus Theostratus Bombastus von
  Hohenheim

14
RISK MANAGEMENT

• RISK TOXICITY X EXPOSURE

15
Definitions

• Toxicant
• a toxic substance
• Hazard
• the inherent toxicity of a substance, based on
  appropriate animal models or information from
  human studies

16
Definitions (continued)

• Toxication (intoxication)
• a product more toxic than the original compound
• Activation
• a specific reaction (enzymatic) that produces a
  more toxic compound
• Detoxification
• deactivation of a toxic compound

17
Routes of Entry

• Oral Ingestion by mouth
• Dermal Skin exposure
• Inhalation Absorbed by lungs
• Ocular Eye exposure

18
Dermal Exposure Variables
Area Rate forehead 4.2 forearm
1.0 abdomen 2.1 palm 1.3 scrotum
11.8 ball of foot 1.8
Absorption rate compared to forearm, which is 1.0
mjweaver,1997
19
Toxic effects may occur

• during or soon after exposure (acute)
• repeated exposures over a long time (chronic)
• In addition, some people may be especially
  sensitive (allergic) to a substance.

20
Acute Toxicity

• (short-term exposure)

21
Chronic Toxicity

• (repeated exposures)

22
Definitions Acute Effects

• Vomiting, Nausea
• Dilation of pupils, blurred vision
• Convulsions
• Chills
• Nervousness
• Headaches

23
Definitions Chronic Effects

• Carcinogens
• Cause cancer
• Mutagens
• Cause mutations in an organisms genetic material
• Teratogens
• cause birth defects in offspring following
  exposure of a pregnant female

24
Toxicity Measure LD50

• The LD50 is the dose of toxin
• that produces 50 mortality
• in a test population.
• LD50 is usually expressed
• in milligrams of toxin
• per kilogram of test animal body weight (mg/kg).

25
LD50 Value and Toxic Effect

• The more toxic a material is, the less it takes
  to kill or produce a harmful effect...

26
LD50 Value and Toxic Effect

• Evaluating LD50s
• Small LD50 values more toxic substance
• - Larger LD50 values less toxic substance.

27
Toxicity Comparisons
Acute toxicity measurements
Acute oral and/or
LD

Lethal dose
Acute dermal
50
(in mg / kg)
in parts per million
( ppm )
Methoxychlor 6000 Malathion
1500 --- DDT 250 Lindane
125 Dieldrin 100 ------------- Parathion
3 --------------
15 x
33 x
28
Toxicity Comparisons (cont.)

• Acute toxicity measurements
• acute inhalation ( lethal concentration )
• LC 50 mg / liter

29
Toxicity Measures and Lethal Dose

• Oral LD50 Lethal Dose
• (mg toxin/kg body weight) (for an average
  adult)
• 0 - 5 a drop or a pinch
• 5 - 50 a few drops to 1 teaspoon
• 50 - 500 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon
• 500 - 5,000 1 ounce to 1 pint
• 5,000 - 15,000 1 pint to 1 quart
• 15,000 1 quart

30
Toxicity Information and Clues

• Concentration of Active Ingredient in Product
• Restricted Use (reason?) vs. General Use
• PPE Requirements, Re-Entry Interval (REI), and
  other label Precautions and Instructions
• Label Signal Word
• MSDS for Product

31
Toxicity Measures and Signal Word

• Acute Oral LD50 Signal Word
• 0 - 50 DANGER/POISON ? (skull and
  crossbones)
• DANGER
• 50 - 500 WARNING
• 500 - 5,000 CAUTION
• 5,000 CAUTION

32
Label Signal Word and Hazard

• Signal Word Toxicity Hazard
• Danger/Poison ? high toxicity
• Danger high toxicity
• (by some entry route and/or
• to some organisms)
• Warning moderate toxicity
• Caution low toxicity

33
Sample Oral Toxicity Valuesfor Commonly-Used
Insecticides

• Pesticide Acute Oral LD50
• (mg/kg - male rat)
• Permethrin 4,000
• malathion (various) 1,378 - 2,800
• acephate (Orthene) 945
• carbaryl (Sevin) 850
• Imidacloprid 450
• diazinon (DZN Diazinon) 300 - 400
• metaldehyde 250
• chlorpyrifos (Dursban, Lorsban) 135 - 163
• parathion (Parathion) 3.6 - 13
• terbufos (Counter) 1.6
• The Agrochemical Handbook, Royal Society of
  Chemistry (1991)

34
Sample Oral Toxicity Valuesfor
Botanical-Derivative Insecticides

• Active Ingredient Acute Oral LD50
• (mg/kg - rat)
• Oils 5,000
• azadirachtin (neem) 5,000
• synthetic pyrethroids 22 - 5,000
• rotenone 39 - 1,500
• ryania 1,200
• pyrethrum 584 - 900
• nicotine 50 - 60
• Soaps DNE
• Bt DNE
• The Agrochemical Handbook, Royal Society of
  Chemistry (1991) and
• Agricultural Chemicals Book I Insecticides
  (1994-95)

35
Sample Oral Toxicity Valuesfor Commonly-Used
Herbicides, etc.

• Pesticide (Product) Acute Oral LD50
• (mg/kg - male rat)
• dicamba (Banvel, Vanquish) 2,629 - 6,764 (salts)
• imazapyr (Arsenal) 5,000
• glyphosate (Accord, RoundUp) 4,045 (salt)
• sodium chloride (table salt) 430 - 3,750
• 2,4-D (various) 666 - 805 (salt) 700 (ester)
• triclopyr (Garlon) 713
• acetylsalicylic acid (asprin) 50-500
• caffeine (coffee, tea, some sodas) 50 - 500
• nicotine (tobacco products) 0.5 - 1.0
• The Agrochemical Handbook, Royal Society of
  Chemistry (1991)
• Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products (1984)

36
RISK FACTORS

• 1. Toxicity of the Formulated Product.
• 2. Other Physical and Chemical Characteristics
• (ex. liquid vs. dry formulation).
• 3. Amount of Handling Required.
• 4. Frequency and Duration of Exposure(s).

37
Special Risk Factors for Children

• lower body weight
• greater surface area
• high metabolism
• habits
• diet

38
Surface Area Volume Ratio

• edge (in) surface area (in2) volume (in3) RATIO
• 2 24 8 3 1
• 4 96 64 1.5 1
• 6 216 216 1 1
• 8 384 512 1 1.3
• 10 600 1,000 1 1.7
• 12 864 1,728 1 2

39
Surface Area Volume
children
40
REDUCE TOXICITY

• Reduced Use
• Engineering Controls

41
REDUCE EXPOSURE

• Product Selection
• Safe Work Habits
• PPE Use

42
Units of Measurement

• parts per million milligrams per kilogram ( mg
  / kg )
• 1 oz of sand in 31 tons of cement
• 1 square foot in 23 acres
• 1 minute in 695 days
• parts per billion micrograms per kilogram (??g
  / kg )
• 1 square foot in 36 square miles
• 1 pinch of salt in 10 tons of potato
  chips
• 1 inch in a 160,000 mile trip
• parts per trillion nanograms per kilogram ( ng
  / kg )
• 1 square inch in 250 square miles
• 1 second in 320 centuries or 11,574,074 days
• 1 postage stamp in an area the size of
  Texas

43
Synergist / Synergism
Synergism is increased activity (toxicity)
resulting from the effect of one chemical on
another.
LD50 DDT 250 mg/kg LD50 synergist 1,000
mg/kg LD50 DDT synergist 50 mg/kg