[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Summary info pesticide chlorpyrifos



Interesting summary of the (very common and harmful) pesticide
Chlorpyrifos, thought it might interest you all - P. Dines

--- FORWARD ---

Date:    Wed, 29 Jan 1997 15:16:32 -0800
From:    "Susan K. Snow" <sksnow@1STNET.COM>
Subject: Re: Help Needed on Termicide-Treated House

Below, see excerpts on Dursban which is used to kill roaches, termites and
other insects by pest control applicators and consumers.  This chemical is
available in supermarkets and other stores.  I did not write the
information
below.  It comes from a well-referenced article by Caroline Cox in The
Journal of Pesticide Reform, an excellent publication of the Northwest
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides covered Chlorpyrifos, in Vol.
14,#4,
Winter 1994.    ....Susan "Bunny" Snow
=======================================================================

Chlorpyrifos has been registered in the U.S. since 1965 <snip>.  It is
manufactured by DowElano, formerly Dow Chemical Company. Common brand names
are Dursban (for household products) and Lorsban (for agricultural
products.)

This is an organophosphate insecticide of the same family as the nerve gas
sarin.  It was during World War II that chemists studied their use as nerve
gases.

"Chlorpyrifos is directly toxic to the nervous system." Also, "it is
transformed inside animals to chlorpyrifos-oxon which is about 3000 times
as
potent against the nervous system as chlorpyrifos iself.  Like all
organophosphates, these chemicals kill insects and other animals, including
humans, because of this toxicity to the nervous system."

"They inhibit an enzyme, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), that breaks down
acetylcholine, a chemical involves in transmitting nerve impulses across
the
junctions between nerves.  Without functioning AChE, acetylcholine
accumulates, producing rapid twitching of involuntary muscles, convulsions,
paralysis, and ultimately death...It impedes respiration (production of
energy within a cell) in the livers of laboratory animals.  This results
from
the effect of chlorpyrifos on the activity of ATPase, an enzyme important
in
cellular respiration.  Chlorpyrifos-oxon inhibits the enzyme cholesterol
ester hydrolase; inhibition of this enzyme in rats eliminates one of their
normal reactions to stress."

Acute toxicity in humans include: "headache, nausea, dizziness, muscle
twitching, weakness, increased sweating and salivation, and fluid-filled
lungs; unconsciousness, convulsions, and death can result with sufficient
exposure..."

"...EPA's pesticide information hotline reported several hundred calls
about
chlorpyrifos-related incidents each year; only the organochlorine
insecticide
chlordane received more calls."

"In a addition to inhibition of AChE activity, some organophosphates cause
a
'less common but potentially more devastating syndrome' called delayed
neuropathy.  Symptoms..include cramps, weakness, tingling and numbing of
extremities, a high stepping gait, paralysis of the lower limbs, and (in
severe cases) quadripelgia.  The syndrome typically occurs one to three
weeks
after exposure to an organophosphate...Degeneration of nerves in the spinal
cord, as well as in limbs, is visible at the same time that the physical
symptoms occur. Typical delayed neuropathy is not reversible; victims do
not
recover..."

"..In 1993, physicians described eight patients who developed delayed
neuropathy after exposure to Dursban. Two of the patients were themselves
physicians, a third was a professional exterminator, and all except the
exterminator were exposed through routine Dursban treatments of their home
or
office."  A 1994 study "measured the neuerological functioning of over 25
patients who had been treated for chlorpyrifos poisoning between 1982 and
1990. The speed at which nerves in the arms and legs conducted impulses
were
reduced, and there was evidence of nerve degeneration in fingers.  Both of
these effects are consistent with delayed neuropathy, and are striking
given
the length of time between exposure and the follow-up study."

A bold highlighted and enlarged print section of the page says:
**"When their oldest daughter was a toddler, the Burkes began regularly
treating their crpets with Dursban...Their second child was born with
cerebral palsy, cataracts, and sfuffered from seizures.  When their third
child was born with similar problems, doctors agreed that the children
might
have been damaged prenatally by the Dursban treatments."**

"A variety of different kinds of exposure to chlorpyrifos can cause acute
toxicity. Direct skin contact with the insecticide either, as a solid or in
water can be toxic. Ingestion, breathing vapors, or contact with
chlorpyrifos-treated soil is also toxic." [I learned, and I'm sure RedHen
did
also, that the emissions stay within the carpets, rugs, walls, furniture
and
fabrics --everywhere in the house for months.  I don't know how long...SKS]

"Chlorpyrifos poisonings are reported to state and federal agencies more
often than poisonings of almost every other insecticide. In laboratory
animals and humans, chlorpyrifos can also cause delayed effects on the
nervous system.  Some effects have been measured years after exposure."

"Human birth defects have been associated with exposure to chlorpyrifos
products. In pregnant laboratory animals, chlorpyrifos exposure caused
fetal
death. Pups that did survive were smaller pups and did not survive as well
as
pups from unexposed mothers. Chlorpyrifos also affects the male
reproductive
system; exposure to a chlorpyrifos product has caused death of cells in
male
rat testes and a decrease in sperm production in cattle.

"Chlorpyrifos has caused genetic damage in human blood and lymph cells,
mice
 spleen cells, and hamster bone marrow cells...

Immune system abnormalities have been reported from petients exposed to
chlorpyrifos.  Many individuals report developing sensitivities to a broad
array of substances following chlorpyrifos exposure."

Structural pest control uses much more chlorpyrifos than does any single
agricultural crop.  Most of the chlorpyrifos products are used in the
kitchen, bathroom, and other living spaces.  These are in addition to lawns
and gardens, and in agriculture.

All this information and more is available from the Northwest Coalition for
Alternatives to Pesticides/NCAP
P.O. Box 1393
Eugene, Oregon 97440
503) 344-5044.
email ncap@igc.apc.org

------------------------------

MCS-IMMUNE-NEURO@Home.Ease.LSOFT.COM is a support/information list for
those
bothered or injured by chemicals and have auto-immune or nervous system
problems as a result of chemical injury.
Ginny Kloth-Owner <bijou@blrg.tds.net>