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Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management

How To Find Ingredients in Pesticide Products

Beyond Pesticides offers resources below to evaluate the health and ecological effects of specific chemical exposure from ACTIVE INGREDIENTS in pesticide products, as well as regulatory information and supporting scientific documents. Because various pesticide products can contain more than one active ingredient, it is important to READ the LABEL to determine chemical components.

With 192 different active ingredients and counting, it is essential to establish the connection between the use of these chemicals and their respective hazards.

View the step-by-step guide on how to search for the active ingredient(s) in pesticide products below:

  1. Go to U.S. EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System and enter the product name. The generic product name may vary.
  2. After searching, click on the chemical ingredients tab or the link for the most recent label to find Active Ingredients.
                 Chemical List                                            Label List 

    If one selects the chemical ingredients tab, skip to Step 4 . If not, proceed to step number 3

  3. To find the active ingredient(s) on the label, search for the page in the document containing the date of registration. Usually, the active ingredients section occurs within the first few pages of the label document.

  4. Return to the Beyond Pesticides Gateway and search for the active ingredient name in the yellow box to the right or from the list below. 

Back to the Gateway

Metam sodium

General Information

  • Fact Sheet: metam sodium.pdf
  • Product Names:
  • Chemical Class: Methyldithio-carbamate soil fumigant
  • Uses: Agricultural soil fumigant,currently labeled for use on all food, feed, and fiber crops; pre-plant on turf grass, to control invading plant roots in drains and sewers, and for vegetation control along drained ponds and lakes (in California only) used for wood pole processing, in leather processing and in raw cane and sugar processing, as well as in industrial water purification systems
  • Alternatives: Organic agriculture
  • Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

  • Cancer: Probable (15)
  • Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
  • Reproductive Effects: Yes (7)
  • Neurotoxicity: Yes (7)
  • Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
  • Sensitizer/ Irritant: Not documented
  • Birth/Developmental: Yes (21)
  • Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
  • Potential Leacher: Yes (7)
  • Toxic to Birds: Yes (40)
  • Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (7)
  • Toxic to Bees: Not documented

Additional Information