Pick Your Poison
An Overview of Toxicology
for
Pesticide Applicators
Mike Reed
Separating Fact from Fiction
Winner of the Mike Reed
Look A Like Contests
Toxicity of Pesticides
Goals of the Program
 Understand what toxicity is and how it
affects humans
 Learn the four routes of entry
 Become familiar with how toxicity is
measured and what is meant by warning
statements
 Debunk Lies
The Green Industry is
under Attach
My Response to Eco Terrorist
Pesticide Poisoning NY
1998-2007
Status
Female
Male
Total
Definite
104
88
192
Probable
140
110
250
Possible
180
145
325
Suspicious
111
139
250
Unlikely
23
16
39
Insufficient
Information
Exposed, Not
Poisoned
Unrelated to
pesticides
113
169
282
55
76
131
4
7
11
730
(49%)
750
(51%)
1480
Product Type
Product Type
Insecticide
Insecticide & Fungicide
Occupational
Yes
No
131
341
3
6
Total
472
9
40.3%
0.8%
Insecticide & Herbicide
0
1
1
0.1%
Insecticide & Other
12
17
29
2.50%
Insect Repellent
5
Insect Growth Regulator 9
20
6
25
15
2.10%
1.30%
Herbicide
Fungicide
Herbicide & Fungicide
26
21
1
46
7
0
72
28
1
6.1%
2.4%
0.1%
Rodenticide
Disinfectants &
Sanitizers
Fumigant
Multiple(nos)
Other
Unknown
Total
1
10
11
37
12
47
1.0%
4.0%
2
2
20
79
322 (27%)
0
2
3
34
850 (73%)
2
4
23
433
1172
.2%
.3%
2.0%
37.0%
%
TOXICITY:
The quality of being
poisonous;
having harmful effects.
Hazard:
The inherent toxicity of a
substance, based on
appropriate animal models or
information from human
studies
Routes of Entry:
Dermal
=
Skin exposure
Inhalation
=
Absorbed by lungs
Oral
=
Ingestion by mouth
Ocular
=
Eye exposure
Dermal Exposure
 Wet, Dry or Gaseous forms of Pesticides
can be absorbed through the skin.
 Contamination can occur during
transportation, mixing, applying and or
storing pesticides
Dermal Exposure
 Damaged or open skin can be penetrated
by a pesticide more readily
 Once absorbed through the skin,
pesticides enter the blood stream and are
carried throughout the body.
Dermal Exposure
Variables
Area
Rate*
forehead
forearm
abdomen
palm
scrotum
ball of foot
4.2
1.0
2.1
1.3
11.8
1.8
*Absorption rate compared to forearm, which is 1.0
mjweaver,1997
Inhalation Exposure
 As dusts, spray mist or fumes pesticides can
be drawn into your lungs
 The largest particles that are inhaled tend to
stay on the surface of the throat and nasal
passages
 Smaller particles can be inhaled directly into
your lungs
Inhalation Exposure
 Once in the lungs chemicals are
absorbed into the blood stream and
distributed to the rest of the body.
 The number of particles needed to
poison depends upon the chemical
concentration.
Oral Exposure
Pesticide can enter the body through the
mouth by:
 Poorly washed hands
 Smoking
 Eating
Which Route is more
Important
 Few Chemicals are equally poisonous by
all routes of entry.
 Dermal is the most likely route of
pesticide entry in the Turf and
Ornamental Industry
Which Route is more
Important
 Healthy skin can slow absorption
 Liquid Pesticides containing solvents or
oil based pesticides are absorbed more
quickly compared to dry pesticides
Dose-Time Relationship
 Dose = The quantity of a substance that
a person is exposed to.
 Time = how often that exposure occurs
Kinds of Toxicity
Acute Toxicity
 How poisonous a pesticide is to a
human, animal or plant after a single
short-term exposure
 The Acute toxicity is the basis for warning
statements on the label
Kinds of Toxicity
Chronic Toxicity
 Is the delayed poisonous effect from
exposure to a substance.
 Chronic Toxicity is a concern not only to
the applicator but also the general public
Toxicity
 Organisms can’t differentiate between
“natural” and “synthetic” chemicals
 “Synthetic” does not mean toxic or poisonous
 “Natural” does not mean safe or even low risk
 Chemicals must be evaluated in their biological
context of behavior in organisms
 Mode of action, not source, is the concern of
toxicologists and informed users of pesticides
Chronic Toxicological
Effects
 Taratogenic - effects unborn offspring
such as birth defects
 Carcinogenic - produces cancer in living
animal tissue
 Oncogenic - tumor forming not
necessarily cancerous
Chronic Toxicological
Effects
 Mutagenic permanent effects on genetic
material that can be inherited
 Neurotoxicity - poisoning the nervous
system
 Immunosupression – Blocking of natural
responses of the immune system
Chronic Toxicological
Effects
 Can You Guess What
Substance I am, based upon
the following chronic effects?
Chronic Toxicological
Effects
 Effects on embryo or fetus (extra
embryonic structures (e.g., placenta,
umbilical cord)).
 Effects on embryo or fetus (fetal death).
 Effects on embryo or fetus (fetotoxicity
(except death, e.g., stunted fetus)).
 Effects on embryo or fetus (other effects
to embryo).
Chronic Toxicological
Effects
 Effects on fertility (other measures of
fertility).
 Effects on fertility (pre-implantation
mortality (e.g., reduction in number of
implants per female;
 total number of implants per corpora
lutea)).
Chronic Toxicological
Effects
 Effects on fertility (post-implantation
mortality (e.g., dead and/or resorbed
implants per total
 number of implants)).
 Effects on newborn (apgar score (human
only)).
 Effects on newborn (biochemical and
metabolic).
Aspirin
LD50 Value and Toxic
Effect
The more toxic a material is,
the less it takes to kill or
produce a harmful effect...
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).
LD50 Value and Toxic
Effect
...therefore,
- the lower the LD50 value, the
more toxic the substance, and
- the higher the LD50 value, the
less toxic the substance.
Toxicity Measures and Lethal
Dose Pesticides:
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
Toxicity Measures and Signal
Word:
Acute Oral LD50
Signal Word
0 - 50
DANGER/POISON
N (skull and crossbones)
DANGER
50 - 500
WARNING
500 - 5,000
CAUTION
> 5,000
CAUTION
Oral Toxicity Values
for Commonly-Used Insecticides:
Pesticide (Product)
Acute Oral LD50
(mg/kg - male rat)
acephate (Orthene)
carbaryl (Sevin)
chlorpyrifos (Dursban, Lorsban)
diazinon (DZN Diazinon)
malathion (various)
945
850
135 - 163
300 - 400
1,378 - 2,800
The Agrochemical Handbook, Royal Society of Chemistry (1991)
Oral Toxicity Values
for Botanical-Derivative
Insecticides
Active Ingredient
Acute Oral LD50
(mg/kg - rat)
azadirachtin (neem)
nicotine
pyrethrum
synthetic pyrethroids
rotenone
ryania
5,000
50 - 60
584 - 900
22 - 5,000
39 - 1,500
1,200
The Agrochemical Handbook, Royal Society of Chemistry (1991) and
Agricultural Chemicals Book I: Insecticides (1994-95)
Oral Toxicity Values
for Commonly-Used Products
Pesticide (Product)
Acute Oral LD50
(mg/kg - male rat)
Acetapniophen (Tylenol)
caffeine (coffee, tea, some sodas)
2,4-D (various)
dicamba (Banvel, Vanquish)
glyphosate (Accord, RoundUp)
nicotine (tobacco products)
sodium chloride (table salt)
triclopyr (Garlon)
338
250
666 - 805 (salt); 700 (ester)
2,629 - 6,764 (salts)
4,320
0.5 - 1.0
3,750
713
The Agrochemical Handbook, Royal Society of Chemistry (1991)
Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products (1984)
Toxicity Measures and Lethal
Dose Pesticides:
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
Kilograms to Pounds
 1 Kg = 2.20460 Lbs
 Average Male = 165 Lbs
 165 / 2.20460 = 74.85 Kg
Killer Coffee?
 Caffeine LD50 – 250 Mg
 Starbucks Pikes Place 16 oz Coffee
Contains 330 mg of caffeine
 250 mg (LD50) X 75 kg (165# Man) =
18,750 mgs to kill 50% of the time
 18,750 / 330 (caf per ) = 56.81 Cups
Killer Tylenol?
 Tylenol LD50 338 mg
 Tylenol is 500 mgs
 338 (LD50) x 75 kg (avg body weight) =
25,350 mgs need to kill 50% of the time
 25,350 mgs / 500 mgs (tablet) = 50.7
tablets
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
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. Method of Exposure(s) / Route of Entry.
5. Frequency and Duration of Exposure(s).
Special Risk Factors for
Children:
 lower body weight
 greater surface area*
 high metabolism
 habits
 diet
RISK MANAGEMENT:
RISK = TOXICITY X
EXPOSURE
REDUCE TOXICITY
 Reduced Use
 Product Selection
REDUCE EXPOSURE
 Engineering Controls
 Safe Work Habits
 PPE Use
Acknowledgements
 New York Department of Health
 Dr. John Noseworthy – Mayo Clinic
 Joanne Kick-Raack – State Pesticide
Coordinator – Ohio State Extension
Questions???????
 Mike Reed
 973-459-1369
 mreed@holganix.com