MedEd Pesticide

MedEd Pesticide Publishes a Pesticide Toxicity Database for Clinicians and Workers

MedEd Pesticide lists each pesticide’s EU and US status, safety limits and chemistry.

A toxicologist reviewing printed pesticide test results at a laboratory desk

A Pesticide Toxicity Database Provides Measured Harm Data for Each Active Ingredient

A pesticide toxicity database is a searchable collection of test results on how pesticides harm living things. Each entry belongs to one active ingredient, the chemical that does the pest control.

Entries come from laboratory studies, field studies and regulatory reviews. The database gathers them in one place, so readers search by pesticide name instead of by report.

A researcher marking up printed pesticide toxicity study tables with a pencil

MedEd Pesticide Organizes Every Toxicity Record by Value, Species, Route and Source

MedEd Pesticide stores each record with the same fields. The value comes first, with its unit and any limit sign.

Next come the species, the exposure route, the study type, the duration and the effect seen. MedEd Pesticide ends each record with its source and year.

A technician holding a rack of test tubes with a dilution series for a dose response test

A Pesticide Toxicity Database Covers Lethal Doses, No-Effect Levels and Reference Doses

A pesticide toxicity database reports each result as a number with a unit, and a lower lethal dose means a more toxic pesticide. Open each term below for its meaning.

LD50 and LC50

The LD50 is the dose that killed half of the test animals. The LC50 is the same measure for a concentration in air or water.

NOAEL and LOAEL

The NOAEL is the highest dose with no harmful effect seen. The LOAEL is the lowest dose with an effect.

Reference dose

A reference dose is a daily intake estimated to carry no appreciable risk over a lifetime. Regulators derive it from studies like these.

A honey bee on a yellow wildflower at the edge of a crop field

MedEd Pesticide Adds Wildlife and Environmental Results to Each Entry

MedEd Pesticide includes tests on bees, fish, birds, water fleas, algae and plants. These show what a pesticide does outside the field it was sprayed on.

MedEd Pesticide groups the results by animal group. Matching tests are summed up as a minimum, a median and a maximum.

A physician talking with an agricultural worker about pesticide exposure in a clinic

A Pesticide Toxicity Database Supports Clinicians, Workers, Students and Researchers

A pesticide toxicity database serves people who need the evidence behind a pesticide’s hazard. It does not guide treatment. In the US, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 after an exposure.

Clinicians

Clinicians see how toxic a pesticide is and which routes of exposure the studies tested.

Workers and occupational health staff

Occupational health staff read the limits regulators set and the effects seen at each dose.

Students and researchers

Students and researchers compare pesticides and follow each row back to its original source.

A regulatory scientist comparing EU and US pesticide documents at a desk

MedEd Pesticide Joins Toxicity Records to EU and US Regulatory Status

MedEd Pesticide shows whether each active ingredient is approved in the European Union and registered with the US EPA. The same page lists the safety limits regulators set.

MedEd Pesticide matches records to the right chemical by its CAS number. Open the database to filter by type, chemical class and status.

Shelves of bound toxicology reports in a public research library

Pesticide Toxicity Data Comes From Public Regulatory and Research Sources

The toxicity records come from EPA ToxValDB, which merges 16 sources. These include the EPA pesticide office, the European Food Safety Authority and the World Health Organization.

Wildlife results come from the EPA ECOTOX Knowledgebase. Every row names its source. See the full source list.

A scientist pointing between two sets of study results on a laboratory table

MedEd Pesticide Shows Where Records Disagree

Values for one pesticide differ by species, route and study design. MedEd Pesticide lists them side by side instead of choosing one.

ToxValDB marks most records as not determined in its quality control. MedEd Pesticide passes that label on. Read the methodology for the full rules.

A farm worker washing hands at a tap beside a backpack sprayer at the edge of a field

Pesticide Toxicity Data Has Limits Every Reader Should Know

A low LD50 shows toxicity, not risk. Risk also depends on how much exposure happens. Animal results do not map directly to people.

A missing record does not mean a pesticide is safe. These records support education and research, not medical advice. Read the medical disclaimer and the glossary.

A farmworker sitting on a pickup tailgate at the edge of a field, holding his forehead, showing symptoms of pesticide poisoning

MedEd Pesticide Explains What Pesticide Poisoning Looks Like

MedEd Pesticide describes pesticide poisoning as an acute or subacute systemic, eye or skin illness from exposure to a pesticide. People are exposed through inhalation, skin contact or ingestion of contaminated water, soil or food.

MedEd Pesticide links the symptoms of pesticide poisoning to the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine. Poisoning from organophosphates is the most common, so that class is the first place to look.

A physician testing a patient's knee reflex during a neurological exam for the effects of pesticides on human health

MedEd Pesticide Documents How Pesticides Harm the Body

MedEd Pesticide notes that organophosphate and carbamate pesticides harm the body by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, which affects the nervous system.

MedEd Pesticide splits the effects of pesticides on human health into short-term and long-term groups. The answers below cover each one.

What are the short-term effects?

Short-term effects are neurological, gastrointestinal, skin and eye, and respiratory, and severe poisoning can follow.

What are the long-term effects?

Long-term effects include cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive effects, neurological disorders and respiratory issues. Some pesticides cause cancer in humans, but whether pesticides cause cancer depends on the pesticide and the exposure.

How do people take pesticides in?

People take in pesticides through ingestion, dermal absorption, inhalation or the eyes. The routes of pesticide exposure decide which symptoms appear first.

Who is most at risk?

Agricultural workers, applicators and chemical manufacturing workers are most at risk. Prevention starts with adequate protective gear for the people who spread pesticides.

An elderly man's hands holding a teacup on a kitchen table, a reminder of pesticides and Parkinson's disease

MedEd Pesticide Summarizes the Evidence on Pesticides and Parkinson's Disease

MedEd Pesticide reports that pesticides show a consistent statistical association with Parkinson's disease, but the cause is not proven. The full research on pesticides and Parkinson's separates what is established from what is not.

MedEd Pesticide cites UCLA studies that found living near paraquat-treated fields raised risk in California's Central Valley. That finding is also the base of the legal claims over paraquat.

Association

The statistical association is consistent, but the cause is not proven.

Duration

Risk rises most when exposure lasts over 10 years.

Mechanism

Pesticides damage dopamine neurons by inhibiting mitochondrial complex I, which sets off oxidative stress and alpha-synuclein aggregation.

A person in gloves spraying glyphosate herbicide on weeds between paving stones on a garden path

MedEd Pesticide Reviews Glyphosate, the Best-Known Herbicide

MedEd Pesticide describes glyphosate as a broad-spectrum herbicide. EPA first registered it in 1974 for use on many crops and in non-crop sites. Herbicides are a class of pesticide, so the answer to whether glyphosate is a pesticide is yes.

MedEd Pesticide also notes that lawn products such as glyphosate are harmful to dogs if swallowed or touched while wet.

Cancer

IARC classifies glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans, and EPA does not.

Safety at label use

US and EU reviews find it safe at label use, but exposure studies report neurotoxic effects.

Resistance

Weeds can become resistant to glyphosate.

Lawsuits

FIFRA now limits glyphosate lawsuits in state courts.

A farmer's open palm holding pink neonicotinoid-treated corn seeds above a plowed field

MedEd Pesticide Covers Neonicotinoids in Seeds, Water and Pollen

MedEd Pesticide explains that neonicotinoid insecticides act through neurotoxic effects, binding irreversibly to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in insects. Growers apply them as seed coatings and sprays.

MedEd Pesticide also notes that they move through the environment in water, and residues turn up in finished drinking water. Bees are harmed by residues in the nectar and pollen of treated plants. A related class, carbamates, also poisons bees, fish and birds.

A laboratory technician preparing fresh vegetable samples for pesticide residue testing

MedEd Pesticide Defines Pesticide Residue on Food

MedEd Pesticide defines pesticide residue as the trace amount of a pesticide that remains in or on food after application. A maximum residue level is the highest level legally tolerated in or on food or feed.

MedEd Pesticide’s guide to pesticide residue in food covers limits, monitoring and testing, and the answers below give the short version.

Is residue in food safe?

Under the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, residue in regulated food is safe at the levels monitoring finds.

How can residue be reduced?

Scrubbing fresh produce under running water reduces residue.

How long does residue last?

Residue lasts as long as the half-life allows, which is 1 to 3 weeks for permethrin on plant surfaces.

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