Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management

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. 
   
   

Terbuthylazine

General Information

• Product Names:

  Ama-204
  Bellacide 325
  Bellacide 329
  Bellacide 320

• Chemical Class: Triazine
• Uses: as a broad-spectrum herbicide, algicide, microbicide, and microbiostat.
• Alternatives: Organic Agriculture
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

• Cancer: Possible (27)
• Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
• Reproductive Effects: Not documented
• Neurotoxicity: Not documented
• 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: Not documented
• Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (27)
• Toxic to Bees: Not documented

Additional Information

• Regulatory Status:
  • EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) Archive Document (1995)
  • EPA Registration Review Draft Risk Assessment for Terbuthylazine (2019)
• Supporting information:
  • PAN Pesticides Database: Terbuthylazine (Pesticide Action Network)
• Studies:
• Bioaccumulation and toxicity of terbuthylazine in earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Li, S., Yuan, Y., Wang, X., Cai, L., Wang, J., Zhao, Y., Jiang, L., & Yang, X. (2023). Bioaccumulation and toxicity of terbuthylazine in earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Environmental toxicology and pharmacology, 97, 104016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2022.104016
• Effects of sub-chronic exposure to terbuthylazine on DNA damage, oxidative stress and parent compound/metabolite levels in adult male rats. Tariba Lovaković, B., Pizent, A., Kašuba, V., Kopjar, N., Micek, V., Mendaš, G., Dvoršćak, M., Mikolić, A., Milić, M., Žunec, S., Lucić Vrdoljak, A., & Želježić, D. (2017). Effects of sub-chronic exposure to terbuthylazine on DNA damage, oxidative stress and parent compound/metabolite levels in adult male rats. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association, 108(Pt A), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.046
• Assessing pesticide residue occurrence and risks in the environment across Europe and Argentina. Alaoui, A., Christ, F., Abrantes, N., Silva, V., González, N., Gai, L., Harkes, P., Navarro, I., Torre, A., Martínez, M. Á., Norgaard, T., Vested, A., Schlünssen, V., Aparicio, V. C., Campos, I., Pasković, I., Pasković, M. P., Glavan, M., Ritsema, C., & Geissen, V. (2024). Assessing pesticide residue occurrence and risks in the environment across Europe and Argentina. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 363(Pt 1), 125056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125056
• Occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern and pesticides and relative risk assessment in Tunisian groundwater . Khezami, F. et al. (2024) ‘Occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern and pesticides and relative risk assessment in Tunisian groundwater’, Science of The Total Environment, 906, p. 167319. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167319.
• Environmental pesticide exposure and Alzheimer's disease in southern Spain: A cross-sectional study. Ruiz-González, C. et al. (2024) Environmental pesticide exposure and alzheimer’s disease in southern Spain: A cross-sectional study, Psychiatry Research. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178124002178?via%3Dihub.
• Currently used pesticides and their mixtures affect the function of sex hormone receptors and aromatase enzyme activity . Kjeldsen, L.S., Ghisari, M. and Bonefeld-Jørgensen, E.C. (2013) ‘Currently used pesticides and their mixtures affect the function of sex hormone receptors and aromatase enzyme activity’, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 272(2), pp. 453–464. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2013.06.028.
• In vitro-in vivo correlations for endocrine activity of a mixture of currently used pesticides.. Taxvig C, Hadrup N, Boberg J, et al. 2013. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol.272(3):757-66
• Residues of agrochemicals in beebread as an indicator of landscape management. Bogo, G. et al. (2024) Residues of agrochemicals in beebread as an indicator of landscape management, Science of The Total Environment. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969724042232?via%3Dihub.
• Pesticides are the dominant stressors for vulnerable insects in lowland streams. Liess, M., Liebmann, L., Vormeier, P., Weisner, O., Altenburger, R., Borchardt, D., Brack, W., Chatzinotas, A., Escher, B., Foit, K. and Gunold, R. Water Research, 201, p.117262.
• Direct pesticide exposure of insects in nature conservation areas in Germany. Brühl, C.A., Bakanov, N., Köthe, S., Eichler, L., Sorg, M., Hörren, T., Mühlethaler, R., Meinel, G. and Lehmann, G.U. Scientific reports, 11(1), pp.1-10.
• Effects of Microplastics on Bioavailability, Persistence and Toxicity of Plant Pesticides: An Agricultural Perspective. Tang, K. (2025) Effects of Microplastics on Bioavailability, Persistence and Toxicity of Plant Pesticides: An Agricultural Perspective, Agriculture. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/4/356.
• The influence of polyethylene microplastics on pesticide residue and degradation in the aquatic environment. Wang, F., Gao, J., Zhai, W., Liu, D., Zhou, Z., & Wang, P. (2020). The influence of polyethylene microplastics on pesticide residue and degradation in the aquatic environment. Journal of hazardous materials, 394, 122517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122517
• Screening of pesticides and veterinary drugs in small streams in the European Union by liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry. Casado, J. et al. (2019) Screening of pesticides and veterinary drugs in small streams in the European Union by liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry, Science of The Total Environment. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969719311969.
• Widespread Pesticide Distribution in the European Atmosphere Questions their Degradability in Air. Mayer, L., Degrendele, C., Šenk, P., Kohoutek, J., Přibylová, P., Kukučka, P., Melymuk, L., Durand, A., Ravier, S., Alastuey, A., Baker, A. R., Baltensperger, U., Baumann-Stanzer, K., Biermann, T., Bohlin-Nizzetto, P., Ceburnis, D., Conil, S., Couret, C., Degórska, A., Diapouli, E., … Lammel, G. (2024). Widespread Pesticide Distribution in the European Atmosphere Questions their Degradability in Air. Environmental science & technology, 58(7), 3342–3352. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c08488