CHAPTER 10 – Toxicity Testing

Most industrialized countries have developed legislation/regulations for pesticide testing, registration, and use. Now, companies that wish to register a pesticide product are required to submit a toxicity data base that is comparable to that required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Toxicity studies are carried out in two waves. The first wave consists of studies that can be completed in a relatively short time period and at minimal cost, giving good indications of what hazards might be encountered following acute exposure. Estimation of the median lethal dose (LD 50 ), primary dermal irritation studies, the Draize eye test, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity studies are generally conducted at this stage. The second-wave package consists of the more costly, time-consuming, longer-term studies required to examine chronic effects, including fertility, reproductive outcomes, and carcinogenicity, on various target organs. The chapter describes the objectives and methods of subchronic, chronic, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicology studies.

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