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Employment Law and Occupational Health and Safety
Published in Julie Dickinson, Anne Meyer, Karen J. Huff, Deborah A. Wipf, Elizabeth K. Zorn, Kathy G. Ferrell, Lisa Mancuso, Marjorie Berg Pugatch, Joanne Walker, Karen Wilkinson, Legal Nurse Consulting Principles and Practices, 2019
Kathleen P. Buckheit, Moniaree Parker Jones
Federal law and regulations require anyone who applies or supervises the use of restricted use pesticides (RUPs) be certified as a private or commercial applicator. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized stronger standards for workers who apply RUPs. These revisions to the Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule are intended to reduce harm from the misapplication of toxic pesticides. Pesticide use is expected to be safer with increased supervision and oversight and help to ensure RUPs are used safely (U.S. EPA, n.d.-c).
Exposure to permethrin and cancer risk: a systematic review
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2018
A total of 2 million pounds of permethrin are applied each year in the US to agricultural, residential, and public health use. Approximately 70% of this volume is used in non-agricultural settings (41% in residential settings and 4% for mosquito abatement), while 30% is used on food/feed crops in agricultural settings (USEPA 2009). Among the specific uses are on cotton, wheat, corn, alfalfa, and other crops, and it is applied annually to agricultural, residential, and public health use sites. Its public health uses include insect control, ranging from buildings and aircrafts, treatment of mosquito nets, and army uniforms to prevent mosquito borne diseases like dengue and malaria. It is also used in the form of shampoo to control human lice and to treat scabies. Because of concerns about aquatic toxicity, when permethrin is used on large areas like crops, nurseries, and sod farms, it is considered a restricted use pesticide (i.e. it can be used only by licensed applicators). For other applications, including residential, it is considered a general use pesticide. Formulations of permethrin used for treatment of head lice and scabies on humans are regulated as pharmaceuticals (Toynton et al. 2009b). The mechanism of action of permethrin involves paralyzing the nervous system of insects after contact or ingestion; it also acts as a mild repellant (Toynton et al. 2009b). However, in contrast to insects, permethrin is readily hydrolyzed and excreted in humans (Abernathy and Casida 1973).