Summary and evaluation, conclusions and recommendations in French and Spanish.

Evaluates the design and findings of over 700 studies in an effort to determine the risks to human health and the environment posed by carbaryl. This broad spectrum contat and ingestion insecticide has been widely used for over 30 years to control various insect pests on food and fibre crops, trees, and ornamentals. In veterinary practice, carbaryl is used to control flies, mosquitos, ticks, and lice in cattle, poultry, and pets. The compound is also used to treat body louse infestation in humans. Carbaryl is currently processed by more than 290 formulators into over 1,500 different registered products. The general population may be exposed through food or following pest control operations in the home and in camping, picnic, and other recreational areas. Workers can be exposed during manufacturing, formulation, packing, transportation, storage, and during and after application. The most extensive section reviews the large number of experiments designed to assess the toxic effects of carbaryl and elucidate its mechanisms of action. These studies, supported by limited data on humans, confirm that carbaryl poses no risk of inducing genetic changes in either the somatic or the germinal tissue of humans, that toxic effects are consistent with the signs and symptoms of cholinesterase inhibition, and that signs of intoxication develop quickly, appear well before a dangerous dose is absorbed, and disappear rapidly when exposure ends. The book concludes that, under normal conditions of use, carbaryl poses a low risk to the environment and to the health of the general population. Levels detected in food and drinking-water are unlikely to endanger health. When reasonable safety precautions and measures for personal protection are enforced, occupational exposure to carbaryl during manufacture, formulation and application will not create health hazards for workers.

eng.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

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