Talk:Permethrin

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Permethrin toxicity

This is what safe2use.com says about permethrin: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified permethrin as a carcinogen because it causes lung tumors in female mice and liver tumors in mice of both sexes.

Wikipedia says permethrin is not classified as a carcinogen.

What's up with that? bstout@news-press.com 74.93.47.33 17:09, 6 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In the Toxicity section, the article states that "Permethrin is also highly toxic to cats." The issue that I have is that Permethrin is one of the three active ingredients in Sergeant's Flea and Tick Spray for Cats at .050%, along with Pyrethrins at .056% and "related reaction products" (whatever that might mean!) at .004%. Could a major pet care company afford the liability of using a chemical in a product that was highly toxic to the intended user of that product?

I would vote for a change of wording in that section, even though I won't make the change myself because I don't want to touch something controversial.

Moderators? Any opinions or input here?

Thanks,
Frank Looper
username: franklooper —Preceding unsigned comment added by Franklooper (talk • contribs) 02:34, 20 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Permethrins are toxic to cats and I would recommend leaving the wording as it is. Here's a quote from the Merck Veterinary Manual "Some pyrethroids, such as permethrin, can be highly toxic to cats." [1]. A more detailed article can be seen at the ASPCA's Poison Control website here [2]. You'll note that it's talking about permethrin concentrations much higher than .050%, but those are the concentrations it's typically found at. I'm not commenting on the safety of the Sergeant's product, but I think it's better to have a blanket statement about permethrin being toxic in cats than to try and give a safe dose (especially since I don't know what the safe dose is, only that it is very much lower than what you find in most flea products). We can use the ASPCA article as a source if you like. Let me know what you think. --Joelmills 03:14, 20 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The article states, "It is not known to harm most mammals or birds. It generally has a low mammalian toxicity and is poorly absorbed by skin."

But then in the next paragraph is also states, "Its use is controversial since, as a broad-spectrum chemical, it kills indiscriminately; as well as the intended pests, it can harm beneficial insects including honey bees, aquatic life,[1] and small mammals such as mice. Permethrin, in larger doses, is toxic to cats, which can become ill or die after being given flea treatments intended for dogs, or after contact with dogs who have recently been treated with permethrin."

These seem to be contradicting statements.

Oawaap (talk) 21:32, 14 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Neurotoxicity

Is this article respectable? Health Effects of Permethrin-Impregnated Army Battle-Dress Uniforms (1994). Should the article mention the varying toxicity of the isomers? The article does not mention its use for treating timber before building construction or when insect infested. Vernon White ^{. . . Talk} 23:13, 10 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

On the topic of neurotoxicity. Would low levels of occasional of exposure to permethrin cause any lasting damage to brain tissue or neurons? Suppose a person lived in a house in which a roach spray (containing permethrin) was applied several times a year over a period of several years throughout much of the house. The article just state that permethrin, "...functions as a neurotoxin, affecting neuron membranes by prolonging sodium channel activation."

DDT

I do not know if discussion of DDT is terribly relevant in this article. If it is to remain, the section stating "given the well known risks" should be amended to specify that there are only proven risks to certain bird and fish species and no credible evidence that links DDT exposure to negative health outcomes for humans. Furthermore, while the article states correctly that DDT is an extremely effective insecticide, it states that it is used because it is inexpensive. This is conjecture, DDT is used because it is the most effective, and long-lasting insecticide that can be used for indoor residual spraying (IRS)- the fact that it lasts twice as long as other insecticides certainly lends usefulness. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.58.6.23 (talk) 02:04, 11 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The section on DDT usage in this article reads like someone being extremely apologetic and feeling guilty about personally using it. Very weird paragraph. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.95.44.134 (talk) 09:48, 9 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Removed copyrighted section by rollback

I have rolled back the article to its April 4 state.

The reason is that someone added a section that was apparently copied from [3], which contains no assertion that its content is licensed for use under the GFDL.

Please add only content that follows the rules, so that they can be legally used on Wikipedia (and its mirrors) under copyright law. --Alvestrand (talk) 08:49, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]