RESUMO
Evaluates risks to human health and the environment posed by aldicarb, a carbamate insecticide applied, exclusively in granular form and below the soil surface, to control certain insects, mites, and nematodes. Aldicarb has been approved for use on a wide range of crops; ingestion of contaminated food is the main route of exposure for the general population. Because aldicarb is applied to the subsoil, the evaluation of environmental fate concentrates on mobility and persistence in soil and on the circumstances under which aldicarb may contaminate shallow wells. The rapid uptake of aldicarb and its residues by food crops is another consistently reported finding. Studies in experimental animals point to the efficient absorption of aldicarb from the gastrointestinal tract and its wide distribution to all tissues, including the developing fetus. Concerning risks to human health, the book draws on reports of several widespread outbreaks of aldicarb poisoning following the ingestion of contaminated cucumbers, melons, watermelons, and drinking water. In each of these cases, poisoning resulted from the use of aldicarb on a non-approved crop. The book concludes that aldicarb is one of the most potent and acutely toxic pesticides in use, that most cases of poisoning and toxicity arise from the use of aldicarb on non-approved crops or the failure to follow recommended safety precautions, that the symptoms of poisoning are transient and rarely fatal, and that aldicarb poses no risk to the general population when applied at recommended rates and using current techniques. The need to use protective equipment during manufacture, formulation, and application is stressed
