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Toxicity and Residues of Endosulfan Isomers

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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 183))

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Abstract

Many insecticidal products are sold as isomeric mixtures even though the toxicological properties and contribution to environmental residues can differ significantly between isomers. Therefore, increasingly there is a trend toward the use of single-isomer products. Commercial endosulfan (6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a, 6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxanthiepine 3-oxide) is a broadspectrum insecticide that is used to control a large range of insects and mites in agricultural and horticultural crops. Endosulfan has traditionally been described as a mixture of two diastereoisomers in a ratio of 70% a-endosulfan and 30% ßendosulfan. Since cancellation in many countries of most cyclodiene insecticide registrations, the ongoing availability of endosulfan has particular importance for use in rotation in resistance management strategies. However, endosulfan is extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates and has been implicated increasingly in mammalian gonadal toxicity (Singh and Pandey 1990; Sinha et al. 1995, 1997; Turner et al. 1997), genotoxicity (Chaudhuri et al. 1999), and neurotoxicity (Paul and Balasubramaniam 1997). No suitable alternatives have been identified. In this review, we investigate whether an insecticide containing only one of the endosulfan isomers, preferably β-endosulfan, would be likely to have reduced residue problems yet retain the advantages of being able to use a cyclodiene insecticide in integrated pest management (IPM) and resistance management strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Entomology, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

    Tara D. Sutherland, Irene Horne, Kahli M. Weir, Robyn J. Russell & John G. Oakeshott

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  1. Tara D. Sutherland
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  1. 5794 E. Camino del Celador Tucson, Arizona, 85750, USA

    George W. Ware

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Sutherland, T.D., Horne, I., Weir, K.M., Russell, R.J., Oakeshott, J.G. (2004). Toxicity and Residues of Endosulfan Isomers. In: Ware, G.W. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 183. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9100-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9100-3_4

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