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From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:59:59 -0500
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Just two items listed in "Approved Organic Pesticides, OMRI Listed and NY REG"

Azadirachtin (121701) Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil
(025007) Fact Sheet

These two active ingredients are derived from the oil found in neem
tree seeds. Humans have used this naturally-occurring oil for
millennia for medicinal, cosmetic, and pesticidal purposes. When used
in pesticide products, both azadirachtin and clarified hydrophobic
extract of neem oil can be applied to many food and non-food crops
indoors and outdoors to control certain insects and related pests.
Adverse effects are not expected to humans, wildlife, or the
environment when products containing these active ingredients are used
according to label directions. Labels direct users not to contaminate
water and not to apply when honeybees are actively visiting flowers in
the area.

Active Ingredient Name: Azadirachtin OPP Chemical Code: 121701 (CAS #
11141-17-6)
Active Ingredient Name: Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil OPP
Chemical Code: 25007 (CAS # 8002-65-1)

Azadirachtin and Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil are derived
from the natural oil found in seeds of the neem tree, Azadirachta
indica A.Juss, which is native to arid regions of India. The ability
of the oil to repel pests has been known for thousands of years; the
oil also has been used on skin and medicinally. When the natural neem
oil is removed from the seeds and treated with alcohol, virtually all
of the azadirachtin and related substances separate from the oil
itself. The remaining oil - without the azadirachtin - is called
Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil.

Azadirachtin acts in the following ways: It deters certain insects,
such as locusts, from feeding and it interferes with the normal life
cycle of insects, including feeding, molting, mating, and egg laying.

Use Sites: Food and non-food plants; ornamentals; commercial and
residential indoor and outdoor sites.

Target pests: Both active ingredients: Many kinds of insects,
including whiteflies and moth larvae, as well as mites, aphids, and
related organisms.

Assessing Risks to the Environment

When used as directed on product labels, neither clarified hydrophobic
extract of neem oil nor azadirachtin are expected to harm non-target
organisms. The substances are found in the environment, where they
degrade naturally. However, product labels direct users not to apply
the products directly to water, not to contaminate water during
cleaning or disposal activities, and not to apply when honeybees are
actively foraging.

* * *

Rotenone

Use of rotenone in organic production

In organic production, the use of rotenone is permitted as an
insecticide under European Union Regulation 2092/91, amended by
1488/97, Annex II (B)(16). In response to a recent study linking
rotenone to Parkinson’s Disease(17), the UK Soil Association put a
temporary ban on its use, pending further investigations.

Acute toxicity

Rotenone is classified by the World Health Organisation as a
moderately hazardous, Class II(18). The LD50 for rats (the amount of
the chemical lethal to one-half of experimental animals) is between
132 and 1,500 mg per kilogram(19). One factor in this wide variation
may be the differences in the plant extracts used(20).

    The acute oral toxicity of rotenone is moderate for mammals, but
there is a wide variation between species(21). It is less toxic for
the mouse and hamster than for the rat; the pig seems to be especially
sensitive. Recent studies have shown that in rats, rotenone is more
toxic for females than males. It is highly irritating to the skin in
rabbits(22), and to the eyes. In rats and dogs exposed to rotenone in
dust form, the inhalation fatal dose was uniformly smaller than the
oral fatal dose(23).

    Rotenone is believed to be moderately toxic to humans with an oral
lethal dose estimated from 300 to 500 mg/kg(24). A lowest lethal dose
of 143 mg/kg has been cited in a child(25). Clinical experience seems
to indicate that children, in particular, are rather sensitive to the
acute effects of rotenone(26).

Water

Rotenone is highly toxic to fish: most values for the 96 hour LC50
(lethal concentration required to kill half the test organisms) for
different fish species and for daphnids (water fleas) lie in the range
of 0.02 to 0.2 mg/litre. If used as a piscicide, it may also cause a
temporary decrease in numbers of other aquatic organisms(40).

    There is considerable controversy over the use of rotenone to kill
non-game fish in water body management areas. One study found that the
practice has a substantially harmful effect on biodiversity, in which
several populations of the native fish showed negligible signs of
recovering stocks, while populations of all exotic species are up(41).

Food residues

Rotenone is not included in regulatory food residue programmes, and
therefore no data is available.

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