Relative Toxicity of Pesticides. |
|
| Substance |
Trade Name examples |
Use |
Oral LD50 (Rats) mg/kg |
|
Highly toxic |
|
Amphetamine |
|
Drug |
5 |
|
Methomyl |
Lannate, Marlin |
Insecticide |
13 |
|
Strychnine |
|
Poison |
16 |
|
Moderately toxic |
|
Nicotine |
Tobacco |
Tobacco |
50 |
| MDMA |
Ecstasy |
Drug |
106 |
| Chlorpyrifos |
Dursban |
OP Insecticide |
135 |
|
Caffeine |
Coffee |
Coffee beans |
150 |
|
Paraquat |
Gramoxone |
Herbicide |
138 |
|
Aspirin |
Aspirin |
Painkiller |
350 |
|
2, 4-D amine |
Seldom used.
|
Herbicide |
300 |
|
Slightly toxic |
|
DDT |
Not used |
Insecticide |
500 |
|
Penicillin |
Several products |
Antibiotic |
1000 |
| Pendimethalin |
Stomp |
Herbicide |
1150 |
| Malathion |
Malathion |
OP Insecticide |
1400 |
| Isoproturon |
IPU |
Herbicide |
1825 |
| EDTA |
Various |
Makeup, soap, lotions |
2000 |
| Fluroxypyr |
Starane |
Herbicide |
>2000 |
|
Sodium Chloride |
Common Salt |
Food additive |
3300 |
| Tebuconazole |
Folicur |
Fungicide |
4000 |
| Chlorothalonil |
Bravo |
Fungicide |
4200 |
| Glyphosate |
Roundup |
Herbicides |
4300 |
| Metsulfuron-methyl |
Ally |
Herbicide |
>5000 |
| Chlormequat |
Cycocel |
Growth Regulator |
6000 |
|
Trifluralin |
Treflan, Trifluralin |
Herbicides |
>10000 |
|
Ethyl alcohol |
|
Alcohol |
14000
|
| |
|
|
|
The Pesticides listed above are sold in a diluted form from
1% to 40% concentration. They are further diluted by a factor of around 200
before application. Many of the above are no longer used in the UK.
Some have been banned because they can be detected, not because they are
harmful at levels of 2 or 3 parts per billion. |
|
One part per million (ppm) is:
1 gram in 1 tonne
1 cm2 in 1,000 m2
1 inch in 16 miles
1 second in 11 days
One part per billion (ppb) is:
1 gram in 1000 tonnes
1 cm2 in 1 km2
1 inch in 16,000 miles
1 second in 32 years | |
|
|
