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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:
- Go to U.S. EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System and enter the product name. The generic product name may vary.
- 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 - 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.
- 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.
Copper Sulfate
(Basic, anhydrous and pentahydrate)
General Information
- Product Names:
- Chemical Class: Inorganic, Fungicide/Antimicrobial
- Uses: Copper compounds are used for food/feed crops, including orchard, row, field, and aquatic crops, flowering/non-flowering plants and trees. Also as a wood preservative, mildewcide, water treatment, bactericide, and as an anti-foulant in many products including paint, glue, building materials and construction materials.
- Alternatives: Organic Agriculture, Lawns/broadleaf plants
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Not documented
- Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
- Reproductive Effects: Yes (27)
- Neurotoxicity: Not documented
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Yes (27)
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (8)
- Birth/Developmental: Not documented
- Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
- Potential Leacher: Not documented
- Toxic to Birds: Moderately toxic (8, 27)
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (27)
- Toxic to Bees: Not documented
Residential Uses as Found in the ManageSafe™ Database
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for Coppers signed (7/2006)
- Registration Review- pending
- Supporting information:
- Extoxnet Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
- PAN Pesticides Database: (Pesticide Action Network)
- Studies:
- *Neurotoxic Effects of Copper Salts in Rats. Plech, A. , Klimkiewicz T. and Jakrzewska H. 2000. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies
- *Copper neurotoxicity is dependent on dopamine-mediated copper uptake and one-electron reduction of aminochrome in a rat substantia nigra neuronal cell line. Paris, I et al. 2001. J Neurochem.
- Hypospadias and residential proximity to pesticide applications.. Carmichael SL, Yang W, Roberts EM, et al. 2013. Pediatrics. 132(5):e1216-26
- Modeling pesticides and ecotoxicological risk assessment in an intermittent river using SWAT. Centanni, M. et al. (2024) Modeling pesticides and ecotoxicological risk assessment in an intermittent river using Swat, Scientific Reports. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-56991-6#Sec14.
- Proximity to residential and workplace pesticides application and the risk of progression of Parkinson's diseases in Central California. Li, S. et al. (2022) Proximity to residential and workplace pesticides application and the risk of progression of parkinson’s diseases in Central California, Science of The Total Environment. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722079542.