Abstract

Background:

Many pesticide products are mixtures of multiple chemicals. These include active ingredients intended to kill pests, and so-called inert ingredients intended to improve the physical characteristics of the product. In addition, shortly before applying a pesticide product, applicators often mix adjuvants into the sprayer tank. Adjuvants are products designed to improve the performance or physical properties of a pesticide spray mixture. Manufacturers may use a particular chemical compound both as an inert ingredient within pesticide products and as a component of adjuvant products. Nonetheless, regulations dictate that data on use are publicly available only for the portion used in adjuvants. Adjuvants are exempt from federal registration, but are defined as pesticides in California. Based on that definition, California has identified $\mathrm{\alpha }\text{-(}p\text{-nonylphenyl}\text{)-}\mathrm{\omega }$-hydroxypoly(oxyethylene) (APNOHO) as the most widely used pesticide in the state, applied to more than $10\text{\hspace{0.17em}million}$ acres annually. That quantified use includes only agricultural acres treated with adjuvants containing APNOHO. Total APNOHO use is likely higher because manufacturers also use the chemical as an inert ingredient within pesticide products, although data on such use are shielded by regulation.

Objectives:

We use APNOHO as a case study to demonstrate that the use of adjuvants and inert ingredients is difficult to track because relevant information is not publicly available. We synthesize information that suggests widespread agricultural use of alkylphenol ethoxylates, such as APNOHO, may pose significant human and environmental health risks. We then make recommendations for future research and policy.

Methods:

We used information from California’s pesticide use reporting system and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to estimate use of APNOHO. We used U.S. EPA and European databases, as well as published research, to identify human and environmental health hazards of APNOHO. We focused on research showing that APNOHO is an endocrine-disrupting chemical.

Discussion:

Within California, APNOHO is applied in more than 150 adjuvant products. Nationwide, it is used as an inert ingredient in at least 650 pesticide products. Exposure to APNOHO is associated with endocrine disruption, birth defects, and aquatic toxicity. We suggest that the case of APNOHO illustrates the larger problem of a lack of publicly available data on use and toxicity of many adjuvants and pesticide inert ingredients. We recommend that researchers and regulators include adjuvants and inert ingredients when evaluating pesticide hazards, including endocrine disruption. We also recommend regulatory requirements to identify all ingredients on product labels. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10634

中文翻译：

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健康、农药佐剂和惰性成分：加利福尼亚案例研究说明了数据访问的需求

摘要

背景：

许多农药产品是多种化学品的混合物。这些包括旨在杀死害虫的活性成分，以及旨在改善产品物理特性的所谓惰性成分。此外，在施药前不久，施药者经常将助剂混合到喷雾罐中。助剂是旨在改善农药喷雾混合物的性能或物理特性的产品。制造商可以使用特定的化合物作为农药产品中的惰性成分和助剂产品的成分。尽管如此，法规规定仅可公开获得用于佐剂的部分的使用数据。佐剂免于联邦注册，但在加利福尼亚被定义为杀虫剂。根据该定义，加利福尼亚州已确定$\mathrm{\alpha }\text{-(}p\text{-壬基苯基}\text{)-}\mathrm{\omega }$-羟基聚氧乙烯（APNOHO）作为该州使用最广泛的农药，应用于超过$10\text{\hspace{0.17em}百万}$亩每年。该量化使用仅包括用含有 APNOHO 的助剂处理的农业用地。APNOHO 的总使用量可能更高，因为制造商也在农药产品中使用该化学物质作为惰性成分，尽管有关此类使用的数据受到法规的保护。

目标：

我们使用 APNOHO 作为案例研究来证明佐剂和惰性成分的使用难以追踪，因为相关信息不公开。我们综合的信息表明烷基酚聚氧乙烯醚（如 APNOHO）在农业上的广泛使用可能会带来重大的人类和环境健康风险。然后，我们为未来的研究和政策提出建议。

方法：

我们使用来自加利福尼亚农药使用报告系统和美国环境保护署 (EPA) 的信息来估计 APNOHO 的使用情况。我们使用美国 EPA 和欧洲数据库以及已发表的研究来确定 APNOHO 对人类和环境健康的危害。我们专注于研究表明 APNOHO 是一种内分泌干扰化学物质。

讨论：

在加利福尼亚州，APNOHO 应用于 150 多种佐剂产品。在全国范围内，它被用作至少 650 种农药产品的惰性成分。暴露于 APNOHO 与内分泌紊乱、出生缺陷和水生毒性有关。我们认为 APNOHO 的案例说明了一个更大的问题，即缺乏关于许多助剂和农药惰性成分的使用和毒性的公开数据。我们建议研究人员和监管机构在评估农药危害（包括内分泌干扰）时加入助剂和惰性成分。我们还建议监管要求以识别产品标签上的所有成分。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10634