Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management

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:

1. Go to U.S. EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System and enter the product name. The generic product name may vary.
   
2. 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
   
   
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.
   
   
4. 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. 
   
   

Updates from the Daily News Blog

Elevated Exposure to Wastewater Contaminants in Communities Near Ag Fields, Study Finds
June 3, 2025

Pesticides Found in Marine Atmosphere Over Deep Atlantic Ocean, Documented for the First Time
April 16, 2025

Microplastics Interact with Pesticides, Exacerbating Environmental Health Threats, Studies Find
February 25, 2025

Multitude of Studies Find Epigenetic Effects from PFAS and Other Endocrine Disrupting Pesticides
January 16, 2025

Over 60 Biomarkers of Pollutants and Pesticides Found in Hair Analyses of French Children
August 7, 2024

Pesticide Use Again Linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease, This Time Among Applicators and Their Spouses
May 15, 2024

Harmful Pollutants in Minnesota Waterways Highlights the Continuing Issue of Water Source Contamination
August 25, 2023

Four Pesticides Restricted to Protect Salmon, Thousands of Other Endangered Species Imperiled
February 10, 2023

Agricultural Herbicide Use Threatens Oak Trees
June 14, 2017

Congress Continues Attacks on Clean Water Act Protections
June 5, 2015

ALL RELATED STORIES >>

Metolachlor

General Information

• Product Names:
  Dual Magnum (Syngenta)
  Pennant Magnum (Syngenta)
  Boundary (Syngenta) formulated with Metribuzin
  Camix (Syngenta) formulated with Mestorione
  Lumax (Syngenta) formulated with Atrazine, and Mesotrione
  Sequence (Syngenta) formulated with Glyphosate
  Prefix (Syngenta) formulated with Fomesafen Sodium
  Cinch (Du Pont)
  Charger (Winfield)

• Chemical Class: Chloroacetanilide herbicide
• Uses: Control of grass and grasslike weeds and broadleaf weeds on terrestrial food crops: cabbage, pepper, radish and stone fruits; terrestrial food and feed crops: corn, cotton, legume vegetables, peanuts, peas, potato, safflower, sorghum, soybeans, treenuts, alfalfa (feed only); terrestrial non-food crops and outdoor residential: Rights-of-Way, golf courses, recreational areas and lawns, nonbearing fruits, ornamental and/or shade trees, ornamental plants and flowers, residential lawns; forest trees.
• Alternatives: Organic agriculture
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

• Cancer: Possible (8)
• Endocrine Disruption: Suspected (43)
• Reproductive Effects: Yes (4)
• Neurotoxicity: Not documented
• Kidney/Liver Damage: Yes (4)
• Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (4)
• Birth/Developmental: Not documented
• Detected in Groundwater: Frequently (37)
• Potential Leacher: Not documented
• Toxic to Birds: Not documented
• Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (8)
• Toxic to Bees: Not documented

Additional Information

• Regulatory Status:
  • EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) signed (4/1995)
• Supporting information:
  • Extoxnet Metolachlor Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
  • PAN Pesticide Database – Metolachlor (Pesticide Action Network)
• Studies:
• Assessment of genetic effects and pesticide exposure of farmers in NW Greece. Moshou, H., Karakitsou, A., Yfanti, F., Hela, D., Vlastos, D., Paschalidou, A.K., Kassomenos, P. and Petrou, I., 2020. Environmental Research, p.109558.
• Cancer incidence among pesticide applicators exposed to metolachlor in the Agricultural Health Study. Rusiecki, J.A., et al. 2006. Int J Cancer 118(12):3118-3123.
• Direct pesticide exposure of insects in nature conservation areas in Germany. Brühl, C.A., Bakanov, N., Köthe, S., Eichler, L., Sorg, M., Hörren, T., Mühlethaler, R., Meinel, G. and Lehmann, G.U. Scientific reports, 11(1), pp.1-10.
• Exposure to pesticides, persistent and non − persistent pollutants in French 3.5-year-old children: Findings from comprehensive hair analysis in the ELFE national birth cohort. Macheka, L. et al. (2024) Exposure to pesticides, persistent and non − persistent pollutants in French 3.5-year-old children: Findings from comprehensive hair analysis in the ELFE national birth cohort, Environment International. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004677.
• 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.
• The influence of polyethylene microplastics on pesticide residue and degradation in the aquatic environment. Wang, F., Gao, J., Zhai, W., Liu, D., Zhou, Z., & Wang, P. (2020). The influence of polyethylene microplastics on pesticide residue and degradation in the aquatic environment. Journal of hazardous materials, 394, 122517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122517
• A cocktail of contaminants: how mixtures of pesticides at low concentrations affect aquatic communities. Relyea R. A. (2009). A cocktail of contaminants: how mixtures of pesticides at low concentrations affect aquatic communities. Oecologia, 159(2), 363–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1213-9
• Currently used and legacy pesticides in the marine atmosphere from Patagonia to Europe. Debler, F., Gandrass, J., Paul Ramacher, M. O., Koenig, A. M., Zimmermann, S., & Joerss, H. (2025). Currently used and legacy pesticides in the marine atmosphere from Patagonia to Europe. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 373, 126175. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126175
• Wastewater surveillance for assessing human exposure to pesticides: Investigating populations living near flower bulb fields. Bijlsma, L. et al. (2025) Wastewater surveillance for assessing human exposure to pesticides: Investigating populations living near flower bulb fields, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343725017865.
• Bioaccumulation, metabolism and endocrine-reproductive effects of metolachlor and its S-enantiomer in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). Ou-Yang, K., Feng, T., Han, Y., Li, G., Li, J., & Ma, H. (2022). Bioaccumulation, metabolism and endocrine-reproductive effects of metolachlor and its S-enantiomer in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). The Science of the total environment, 802, 149826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149826