Pesticides Affect Your Enzymes and Cells

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Petroleum Hydrocarbons

Aliphatic petroleum hydrocarbons are the sixth most

common active ingredient in household pesticides

today. Highly refined horticultural oil has a

relatively low acute oral toxicity, though it is a

skin and lung irritant. Petroleum oils vary greatly in

terms of refining, and hence in amounts of aromatic

hydrocarbon impurities, which are potentially toxic

benzene-ring compounds. Thus, petroleum oil-based

pesticides are complex mixtures of varying quantities

of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons with

potentially diverse toxicological profiles and health

effects.

Among the few toxicological effects of aliphatic

petroleum hydrocarbons mentioned in a 1988 petroleum

industry review in Occupational Medicine are central

nervous system depression manifested as dizziness and

incoordination. Petroleum hydrocarbons and solvents of

various sorts, including aromatic compounds such as

benzene, toluene, and xylene, are also among the

unnamed " inert ingredients " formulated into household

pesticide products.

Synergists and Pyrethrins

The synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO), the number one

active ingredient in household pesticides, is commonly

formulated with the number two active ingredient,

pyrethrin compounds, in household pesticide products.

Synergists by themselves have little pesticidal

activity, but increase the effectiveness of other

pesticide active ingredients. PBO has an extremely low

acute oral toxicity. By itself, PBO has, at least

until recently, been considered neither mutagenic nor

carcinogenic, though liver and kidney damage has been

noted over the years in animal studies. However,

Japanese researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan

Laboratory of Public Health have recently published a

series of chronic toxicity studies that shows a

dose-dependent relationship between hepatocellular

carcinoma and PBO when doses are increased to

exceptionally high levels, well above what human

beings are ever likely to encounter.

Pasted from

<http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1995/103-6/focus.html>

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