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. 
   
   

Sulfoxaflor

General Information

• Product Names:

  CLOSER SC
  TRANSFORM WG

• Chemical Class: Systemic sulfoximine insecticide, although some classify it as a neonicotinoid insecticide
• Uses: Restricted applications for post-bloom only for crops that are attractive to bees: Barley, triticale, wheat, turf grass; are harvested before bloom: Brassica leafy vegetables, Bulb vegetables, Leafy vegetables (non-Brassica) and watercress, Leaves of root and tuber vegetables, Root and tuber vegetables; and post-bloom applications for bee attractive crops: Berries (grape, blueberry, cranberry),Canola,Fruiting vegetables (tomato, pepper, eggplant) and okra, Pome fruit, Ornamentals, Potato, Stone fruit, Succulent and dry beans, Tree nuts and pistachio.
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

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

Additional Information

• Regulatory Status:
  • EPA Decision to Register the Insecticide Sulfoxaflor with Limited Uses and Pollinator Protective Requirements (10/2016)
  • Beyond Pesticides' Proposed Registration comments (06/2016)
  • 2015 Cancellation Order for Sulfoxaflor
  • Beyond Pesticides' Proposed Registration comments (02/2013)
• Supporting information:
  • Federal Court Overturns EPA Approval of New Bee-Killing Insecticide Sulfoxaflor
  • Sulfoxaflor: Daily News Blog
• Studies:
• Bees under interactive stressors: the novel insecticides flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor along with the fungicide azoxystrobin disrupt the gut microbiota of honey bees and increase opportunistic bacterial pathogens. Al Naggar, Y., Singavarapu, B., Paxton, R.J. and Wubet, T., 2022. Science of The Total Environment, 849, p.157941.
• Toxic temperatures: Bee behaviors exhibit divergent pesticide toxicity relationships with warming.. Kenna, D., Graystock, P. and Gill, R.J., 2023..Global Change Biology.
• Characterization of Sulfoxaflor and Its Metabolites on Survival, Growth, Reproduction, Biochemical Markers, and Transcription of Genes of Daphnia magna. Yuan, T., Jiao, H., Ai, L., Chen, Y., Hu, D. and Lu, P., 2023. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 71(16), pp.6424-6433.