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Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management
How To Find Ingredients in Pesticide Products
Beyond Pesticides offers resources below to evaluate the health and ecological effects of specific chemical exposure from ACTIVE INGREDIENTS in pesticide products, as well as regulatory information and supporting scientific documents. Because various pesticide products can contain more than one active ingredient, it is important to READ the LABEL to determine chemical components.
With 192 different active ingredients and counting, it is essential to establish the connection between the use of these chemicals and their respective hazards.
View the step-by-step guide on how to search for the active ingredient(s) in pesticide products below:
- Go to U.S. EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System and enter the product name. The generic product name may vary.
- After searching, click on the chemical ingredients tab or the link for the most recent label to find Active Ingredients.
Chemical List Label List
If one selects the chemical ingredients tab, skip to Step 4 . If not, proceed to step number 3 - To find the active ingredient(s) on the label, search for the page in the document containing the date of registration. Usually, the active ingredients section occurs within the first few pages of the label document.
- Return to the Beyond Pesticides Gateway and search for the active ingredient name in the yellow box to the right or from the list below.
Diuron
General Information
- Product Names:
- Chemical Class: Dimethylurea herbicide (also mildewcide and algaecide)
- Uses: Agriculture, ornamentals, ponds, aquariums, paints
- Alternatives: Organic agriculture
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Known/likely (8, 21)
- Endocrine Disruption: Yes (36)
- Reproductive Effects: Not documented
- Neurotoxicity: Not documented
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Yes (8) [carcinomas]
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (4)
- Birth/Developmental: Not documented
- Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
- Potential Leacher: Not documented
- Toxic to Birds: Not documented
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (8)
- Toxic to Bees: Yes (57)
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) signed(9/2003)
- Supporting information:
- Extoxnet Pesticide Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
- PAN Pesticides Database: (Pesticide Action Network)
- Studies:
- Prenatal pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia - A California statewide case-control study. Park, A.S., Ritz, B., Yu, F., Cockburn, M. and Heck, J.E., 2020. International journal of hygiene and environmental health, 226, p.113486.
- Diuron-induced rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis: mode of action and human relevance evaluations using the International Programme on Chemical Safety framework.. Da Rocha MS, Arnold LL, De Oliveira ML, Catalano SM, et al. 2014. Crit Rev Toxicol. 44(5):393-406.
- Estimating the aquatic risk from exposure to up to twenty-two pesticide active ingredients in waterways discharging to the Great Barrier Reef. Warne, M. et al. (2023) Estimating the aquatic risk from exposure to up to twenty-two pesticide active ingredients in waterways discharging to the Great Barrier Reef, Science of The Total Environment. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723032552.
- Pesticides and prostate cancer incidence and mortality: An environment-wide association study. Soerensen, S. et al. (2024) Pesticides and prostate cancer incidence and mortality: An environment-wide association study, Cancer. Available at: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.35572.
- Impact of Endocrine Disrupting Pesticide Use on Obesity: A Systematic Review. Pérez-Bermejo, M. et al. (2024) Impact of Endocrine Disrupting Pesticide Use on Obesity: A Systematic Review, Biomedicines. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/12/12/2677.
- Pesticide exposure and sleep disorder: A cross-sectional study among Thai farmers. Juntarawijit, C. et al. (2025) Pesticide exposure and sleep disorder: A cross-sectional study among Thai farmers, Heliyon. Available at: https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(24)17154-X.
- Assessment of genetic damage levels in agricultural workers exposed to pesticides in Paraíba, Brazil. Carvalho-Gonçalves, L. et al. (2025) Assessment of genetic damage levels in agricultural workers exposed to pesticides in Paraíba, Brazil, Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1382668925000900.