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Herbicide 2,4-D Fact Sheet
2,4-D
General Information
- Beyond Pesticides 2,4-D ChemWatch Factsheet
- 2,4-D product names
- Chemical Class: Phenoxy herbicide
- Uses:Registered For field, fruit, and vegetable crops, turf, lawns, rights-of-way, aquatic sites, forestry applications, post-emergence broadleaf weeds, plant growth regulator in citrus
- Alternatives: Agriculture, Lawns/broadleaf plants
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health Effects
- EPA Acute Toxicity Class: III - IV (slightly toxic to practically non-toxic)
- Cancer: Yes (4)
- Endocrine Disruption: Probable (5)
- Reproductive Effects: Yes (6)
- Neurotoxicity: Yes (7)
- Kidney/ Liver Damage: Yes (7)
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (4)
- Birth/ Developmental Defects: Yes (4)
Environmental Effects
- Detected in Groundwater: Yes (4)
- Detected in Streams: Frequently (37)
- Potential Leacher: Yes (7)
- Toxic to Birds: Yes (8)
- Toxic to Fish/ Aquatic Organisms: Yes (8)
- Toxic to Bees: Yes (4)
- Toxic to Mammals: Not documented
- Long-Range Transport: Not documented
Additional Information
- Regulatory Information:
- EPA Reregistration Eligibility Document (RED) signed (6/2005)
- Beyond Pesticides' RED comments.
- Supporting information:
- Daily News Blog entries (Beyond Pesticides)
- Asthma, Children and Pesticides (Beyond Pesticides)
- Children & Lawn Chemicals Don't Mix (Beyond Pesticides)
- The Safer Choice (Beyond Pesticides)
- NCAP 2,4-D Factsheet (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides)
- Extoxnet 2,4-D Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
- PAN Pesticides Database: 2,4-D (Pesticide Action Network)
- Key Studies:
- Herbicide exposure and the risk of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in Scottish terriers, Glickman, et. al. 2004. Journal of the American Medical Association.
- Pesticides in Household Dust and Soil: Exposure Pathways for Children of Agricultural Families, Simcox, et. al. 1995. Environmental Health Perspectives.
- A Case–Control Study of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Exposure to Pesticides Journal of the American Cancer Society, 1999.
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