Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management

Updates from the Daily News Blog

California Fines Six Firms for Repeated Pesticide-Tainted Crop Violations
August 6, 2015

U.S. and EU Trade Proposal Threatens Human Health and Environment
January 9, 2015

Pesticide Production Leaves a Legacy of Poisoning and Contamination
June 30, 2014

Fish from Alaskan Wilderness Contaminated with Banned Pesticides
April 15, 2014

Third Time in Three Years - Pesticides Believed to be Cause of Fish Kills in Canada
July 31, 2013

Chinese Herbs Found To Be Tainted With Pesticides
June 25, 2013

EPA Allows Highly Toxic Endosulfan Residues on Imported Chinese Tea
February 11, 2013

After Years of Delay, EPA Finally Begins Phase Out of the DDT-Era Pesticide Endosulfan
August 2, 2012

Endosulfan Found in Bone Marrow of Children with Blood Cancers
February 22, 2012

Group Files Lawsuit for Failure to Protect Red-Legged Frogs
October 20, 2011

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Endosulfan

General Information

• Fact Sheet: endosulfan_final.pdf
• Product Names:

  Drexel endosulfan (Drexel Chemical Co.)
  Endalfly insecticide cattle ear tag (Kmg-bernuth Inc)
  Phaser (Bayer Cropsciences)
  Thionex technical insecticide (Makhteshim-agan) 
  Thiodan (Makhteshim-agan) 

• Chemical Class: Organochlorine
• Uses: Contact insecticide in vegetables, fruits, cereal grains, and cotton, as well as ornamental shrubs, trees, vines, and ornamentals for use in commercial agricultural settings.
• Alternatives: Organic agriculture
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

• Cancer: Not documented
• Endocrine Disruption: Yes (30)
• Reproductive Effects: Yes (4)
• Neurotoxicity: Yes (4)
• Kidney/Liver Damage: Yes (32)
• Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (4)
• Birth/Developmental: Yes (7)
• Detected in Groundwater: Yes (4)
• Potential Leacher: Not documented
• Toxic to Birds: Yes (8)
• Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (8)
• Toxic to Bees: Yes (19)

Residential Uses as Found in the ManageSafe™ Database

• Tree-boring Caterpillars

Additional Information

• Regulatory Status:
  • EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) signed (11/2002)
  • Lawsuit filed by Pesticide Action Network, Beyond Pesticides, NRDC, UFW et. al (7/2008)
  • Scientists' call to ban endosulfan (5/2008)
  • EPA Announces Move to Terminate Use of Endosulfan (6/2010)
• Supporting information:
  • Daily News Blog entries (Beyond Pesticides)
  • Extoxnet Endosulfan Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
  • PAN Pesticides Database:Endosulfan (Pesticide Action Network)
  • PAN Endosulfan Program Page (Pesticide Action Network)
• Studies:
• Developmental exposure to pesticides zineb and/or endosulfan renders the nigrostriatal dopamine system more susceptible to these environmental chemicals later in life.. Jia, Z., et al. 2007. Neurotoxicology 28(4):727-735
• Developmental exposure to the organochlorine insecticide endosulfan damages the nigrostriatal dopamine system in male offspring.. Wilson WW, Shapiro LP, et al. 2014. Neurotoxicology. 44:279-87
• Developmental neurotoxic effects of two pesticides: Behavior and neuroprotein studies on endosulfan and cypermethrin.. Lee I, Eriksson P, et al. 2015. Toxicology. 335:1-10.
• Effect of Endosulfan on Male Reproductive Development. Saiyed, H et al. 2003. Environ Health Perspect 111:1958-1962
• Effects of a mixture of pesticides on the adult female reproductive system of Sprague-Dawley, Wistar, and Lewis rats. Pascotto VM, Guerra MT, Franci JA, et al. 2015. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 78(9):602-16