|
|
|
|
Chemicals
of special concern
 PAN Dirty Dozen Pesticides
PAN Bad Actor Pesticides
Pesticide Action Network
(PAN) Dirty Dozen Pesticides
PAN
International launched its Dirty Dozen Campaign in 1985 to target
a list of extremely hazardous pesticides for bans or strict controls
on production and use worldwide, and to advocate their replacement
with safe and sustainable pest control methods.
Collectively,
Dirty Dozen pesticides cause many deaths and widespread environmental
damage every year. Most have been banned or restricted in the industrialized
countries because of their known hazards. Yet the Dirty Dozen are
still heavily promoted and widely used in many developing nations,
where the lack of protective equipment, safety training, and medical
services makes their impact even more devastating.
The Dirty Dozen
includes: aldicarb, toxaphene, chlordane and heptachlor, chlordimeform,
chlorobenzilate, DBCP, DDT, the "drins" (aldrin, dieldrin and endrin),
EDB, HCH and lindane, paraquat, parathion and methyl parathion,
pentachlorophenol, and 2,4,5-T. Most of these pesticides qualify
as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which are notable in their
longevity, toxicity to humans and animals, and their ability to
be transported around the globe through the atmosphere.
The United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has identified a number of
the Dirty Dozen chemicals as the initial targets for global elimination
under an international treaty signed in May 2001 (1, 2). Nine of
these chemicals are organochlorine pesticides (aldrin, endrin, dieldrin,
DDT, chlordane, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, toxaphene and mirex).
The industrial chemicals dioxin, furans and PCBs are also on the
POPs treaty list. The treaty, which will come into force when ratified
by 50 countries, will have provisions to add additional chemicals
which meet the agreed-upon criteria for persistence in the environment,
bioaccumulation, and transportability. There is widespread agreement
that some of the remaining Dirty Dozen pesticides which are still
in use in the United States and other industrialized countries (e.g.,
lindane and endosulfan) meet these criteria. Other, less persistent but
still highly toxic Dirty Dozen chemicals like methyl parathion,
pentachlorophenol, paraquat, and 2,4,5-T remain in use in the U.S.
or other countries.
References:
Articles from
PAN related to the Dirty Dozen can be found by searching for "Dirty
Dozen" at the PANNA
Web site.
- Persistent Organic
Pollutants, United
Nations Environment Programme. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- International
POPs Elimination Network
Web site. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
Top
of page
Pesticide Action Network
(PAN) Bad Actor Pesticides
In order to identify a "most
toxic" set of pesticides,
Pesticide
Action Network (PAN) and Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR)
created the term PAN
Bad Actor pesticides. These pesticides are at least
one of the following:
- Known or probable
carcinogens, as designated by
the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), U.S. EPA,
U.S. National Toxicology Program, and the state of California's
Proposition 65 list.
- Reproductive
or developmental toxicants, as designated by the state of
California's Proposition 65 list.
- Neurotoxic cholinesterase
inhibitors, as designated by California Department of Pesticide
Regulation, the Materials Safety Data Sheet for the particular
chemical, or PAN staff evaluation of chemical structure (for organophosphorus
compounds).
- Known
groundwater contaminants, as designated by the state of California
(for actively registered pesticides) or from historic groundwater
monitoring records (for banned pesticides).
- Pesticides with
high acute toxicity,
as designated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S.
EPA, or the U.S. National Toxicology Program.
In
2000, PAN and CPR published Hooked
on Poison: Pesticide Use in California 1991-1998, a report
on trends in pesticide use in California with a particular focus
on Bad Actor pesticides used in California.
About
the Data: Accuracy,
currency,
comprehensiveness and source
Data
for PAN Bad Actors come from official lists of chemicals with certain
toxicity properties. The available lists are generally accurate
and up-to-date. However, because many chemicals have not yet been
thoroughly evaluated, these lists cannot be considered comprehensive.
New chemicals will be added as they are listed in the official source
lists.
References:
See individual
toxicant categories (acute toxins, carcinogens, etc.) for data sources.
Top
of page
Last updated
November 11, 2002
.
|
|
