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Gateway test
Metam sodium
General Information
- Fact Sheet: metam sodium.pdf
- Product Names:
- Chemical Class: Methyldithio-carbamate soil fumigant
- Uses: Agricultural soil fumigant,currently labeled for use on all food, feed, and fiber crops; pre-plant on turf grass, to control invading plant roots in drains and sewers, and for vegetation control along drained ponds and lakes (in California only) used for wood pole processing, in leather processing and in raw cane and sugar processing, as well as in industrial water purification systems
- Alternatives: Organic agriculture
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Probable (1)
- Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
- Reproductive Effects: Yes (2)
- Neurotoxicity: Yes (2)
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Not documented
- Birth/Developmental: Yes (3)
- Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
- Potential Leacher: Yes (2)
- Toxic to Birds: Yes (4)
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (2)
- Toxic to Bees: Not documented
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- Supporting information:
- NCAP Metam Sodium Factsheet (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides)
- PAN Pesticides Database:Metam Sodium (Pesticide Action Network)
- Studies:
Gateway Health and Environmental Effects Citations
1. EPA weight-of-evidence category, "Group B2 – Probable Human Carcinogen." US EPA, 2005. Office of Pesticide Programs. List of Chemicals Evaluated for Carcinogenic Potential. May 10, 2005. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/carlist/
2. Beyond Pesticides ChemWatch Factsheets. (Cited under factsheets on Beyond Pesticides Gateway; see top of individual chemical page)
3. California Environmental Protection Agency. Proposition 65: Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. February 25, 2022.https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/proposition-65//p65chemicalslistsinglelisttable2021p.pdf
4. Mineau, P., A. Baril, B.T. Collins , J. Duffe, G. Joerman, R. Luttik. 2001. Reference values for comparing the acute toxicity of pesticides to birds. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 170:13-74. http://web.archive.org/web/20081006213641/http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/pesticides/aims/aims/toxicitytable.cfm