Carbendazim
Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by exposure to carbendazim, a systemic fungicide which is the most widely used compound in the benzimidazole family of fungicides. Carbendazim is used to control a wide range of fungi responsible for several important plant diseases. Plan...
| Institution: | ETUI-European Trade Union Institute |
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| Format: | TEXT |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Geneva
1993
WHO |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19206005124910242879-Carbendazim.htm |
| Summary: | Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by exposure to carbendazim, a systemic fungicide which is the most widely used compound in the benzimidazole family of fungicides. Carbendazim is used to control a wide range of fungi responsible for several important plant diseases. Plants protected by this fungicide include cereals, cotton, sugar beet, soybeans, vegetables, fruits, and many other food crops. Because carbendazim is the main metabolite of benomyl in mammals and the degradation product of benomyl in the environment, data from studies of both compounds are considered in the report.
The most extensive section reviews the large number of experimental studies designed to investigate the toxicity of carbendazim. Although data on human exposure are limited to two studies, the report draws on the large body of experimental work, supported by knowledge of how carbendazim exerts its toxic effects in both target and non-target species, to conclude that the likelihood of systemic toxicity following exposure in either the general population or workers is remote. Given current occupational exposures and the low rate of dermal absorption, the report further concludes that, when proper protective clothing is worn, health risks of agricultural exposure are low.
Concerning effects on organisms in the environment, the report cites evidence that both benomyl and carbendazim are highly toxic to certain aquatic organisms in laboratory tests, but concludes that this toxicity is not likely to occur under field conditions due to the compound's low bioavailability in surface waters. The report also cites evidence, from both laboratory and field investigations, that benomyl and carbenda-zim, applied at recommended rates, cause deaths and sublethal reproductive effects on earthworms. The compound has shown low toxicity for birds and is classified as "relatively non-toxic" to honey-bees. |
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| Physical Description: | 132 p. Paper |