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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.
Parathion/Ethyl parathion
General Information
- Fact Sheet: parathion.pdf
- Product Names:
- Chemical Class: Organophosphate insecticide
- Uses: alfalfa, barley, canola, corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, and wheat.
- Alternatives: Organic agriculture
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Possible (10)
- Endocrine Disruption: Probable (5)
- Reproductive Effects: Yes (4)
- Neurotoxicity: Yes (7)
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Not documented
- Birth/Developmental: Not documented
- Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
- Potential Leacher: Not documented
- Toxic to Birds: Yes (4)
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (4)
- Toxic to Bees: Yes (19)
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- All uses cancelled (effective 10/2003)
- Supporting information:
- Extoxnet Parathion Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
- PAN Pesticides Database:Parathion (Pesticide Action Network)
- ABC Parathion Factsheet (American Bird Conservancy)
- Studies:
- Children's Exposure to Chlorpyrifos and Parathion in an Agricultural Community in Central Washington State. Fenske, R.A., Lu, C, Barr, D, and Needham, L. 2002. Environ Health Perspect. 11(5):: 549–553
- Diazinon and parathion diverge in their effects on development of noradrenergic systems. Slotkin TA, Skavicus S, Seidler FJ. 2017. Brain Res Bull. 130:268-273.
- Does early-life exposure to organophosphate insecticides lead to prediabetes and obesity. Slotkin, T.A. 2011. Reproductive Toxicology. 31: 297–301.
- Breast carcinogenesis induced by organophosphorous pesticides. Calaf, G.M., 2022. Advances in Pharmacology (San Diego, Calif.), 96, pp.71-117.
- Pesticide use and inflammatory bowel disease in licensed pesticide applicators and spouses in the Agricultural Health Study. Chen, D. et al. (2024) Pesticide use and inflammatory bowel disease in licensed pesticide applicators and spouses in the Agricultural Health Study, Environmental Research. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935124003682?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=88272c5c9b94942f.
- Chronic kidney disease from agricultural communities—association and accumulation of hexachlorobenzene, malathion, and parathion pesticides. Verma, J. et al. (2024) Chronic kidney disease from agricultural communities-association and accumulation of hexachlorobenzene, malathion, and parathion pesticides, Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13530-024-00222-y.