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.
Methyl bromide
General Information
- Fact Sheet: MethylBromide.pdf
- Product Names:
- Chemical Class: Inorganic fungicide, insecticide, rodenticide
- Uses: Broad-spectrum fumigant chemical used as an acaricide, antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, and vertebrate control agent.
- Alternatives: Organic agricultural
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Yes (7)
- Endocrine Disruption: Yes (36)
- Reproductive Effects: Not documented
- Neurotoxicity: Yes (7)
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (7)
- Birth/Developmental: Yes (7)
- Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
- Potential Leacher: Not documented
- Toxic to Birds: Not documented
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (8)
- Toxic to Bees: Not documented
Residential Uses as Found in the ManageSafe™ Database
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) amended 5/2009
- Because MeBr depletes the stratospheric ozone layer, it was to be phased-out in 2005, however, critical use exemptions allow for its continued use.
- Supporting information:
- Extoxnet Methyl Bromide Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
- PAN Pesticides Database: Methyl Bromide (Pesticide Action Network)
- Scorecard Methyl Bromide Factsheet (The Pollution Information Site)
- Studies:
- Top 15 Farmworker Poison
- Prenatal and infant exposure to ambient pesticides and autism spectrum disorder in children: population based case-control study. von Ehrenstein, et al. 2019. BMJ 2019;364:l962