	

	UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

	WASHINGTON, D.C.  20460

	July 25, 2006

MEMORANDUM

				

SUBJECT:	Review of Fomesafen Incident Reports

		DP Barcode D331945, Chemical #123802

FROM:	Monica S. Hawkins, M.P.H., Environmental Health Scientist

		Chemistry and Exposure Branch

		Health Effects Division (7509P)

		Hans Allender, Ph.D., Statistician

		Chemistry and Exposure Branch

		Health Effects Division (7509P)

THRU:	David J. Miller, Chief

		Chemistry and Exposure Branch 

		Health Effects Division (7509P)

TO:		Matthew Lloyd, Industrial Hygienist

		Reregistration Branch 1

		Health Effects Division (7509P)

BACKGROUND

			

	The following data bases have been consulted for the poisoning incident
data on the active ingredient Fomesafen (123802):

1)  OPP Incident Data System (IDS) - reports of incidents from various
sources, including registrants, other federal and state health and
environmental agencies and individual consumers, submitted to OPP since
1992.  Reports submitted to the Incident Data System represent anecdotal
reports or allegations only, unless otherwise stated.  Typically no
conclusions can be drawn implicating the pesticide as a cause of any of
the reported health effects.  Nevertheless, sometimes with enough cases
and/or documentation risk mitigation measures may be suggested.

2)  Poison Control Centers - as the result of a data purchase by EPA,
OPP received Poison Control Center data covering the years 1993 through
2003 for all pesticides.  Most of the national Poison Control Centers
(PCCs) participate in a national data collection system, the Toxic
Exposure Surveillance System which obtains data from about 65-70 centers
at hospitals and universities.  PCCs provide telephone consultation for
individuals and health care providers on suspected poisonings, involving
drugs, household products, pesticides, etc.

3)  California Department of Pesticide Regulation  - California has
collected uniform data on suspected pesticide poisonings since 1982. 
Physicians are required, by statute, to report to their local health
officer all occurrences of illness suspected of being related to
exposure to pesticides.  The majority of the incidents involve workers. 
Information on exposure (worker activity), type of illness (systemic,
eye, skin, eye/skin and respiratory), likelihood of a causal
relationship, and number of days off work and in the hospital are
provided.

4)  National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) - NPIC is a toll-free
information service supported by OPP.  A ranking of the top 200 active
ingredients for which telephone calls were received during calendar
years 1984-1991, inclusive has been prepared.  The total number of calls
was tabulated for the categories human incidents, animal incidents,
calls for information, and others.

5) National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health’s Sentinel
Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (NIOSH SENSOR) performs
standardized surveillance in nine states from 1998 through 2003.  States
included in this reporting system are Arizona, California, Florida,
Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.  Reporting
is very uneven from state to state because of the varying cooperation
from different sources of reporting (e.g., workers compensation, Poison
Control Centers, emergency departments and hospitals, enforcement
investigations, private physicians, etc.).  Therefore, these reports
should not be characterized as estimating the total magnitude of
poisoning.  The focus is on occupationally-related cases not residential
or other non-occupational exposures.   However, the information
collected on each case is standardized and categorized according the
certainty of the information collected and the severity of the case.

FOMESAFEN REVIEW

I. Incident Data System

Incident#7666-66

	A pesticide incident occurred in 1998, when a thirty year old man
reported skin irritation.  He mixed a five-gallon product with 500
gallons of water when the hose broke and the product splashed in his
eyes, mouth, and face.  The man drank milk and flushed his face and eyes
for twenty minutes.  No further information on the disposition of the
case was reported.

Incident#7666-81

	A pesticide incident occurred in 1998, when a man, who did wear
personal protective equipment, reported skin irritation and pain and
pruritus.  He had used the product for the first time and immediately
reported red, itchy, and painful bumps on his chin, neck, back,
buttocks, and legs.  No further information on the disposition of the
case was reported. 

Incident#11844-4

	A pesticide incident occurred in 2001, when a forty-two year old man
reported cellulitis, irritation, pain, and burns.  He used the product
and some of it got into his shoe.  The man immediately washed himself
with soap and water and was later treated by a physician.  No further
information on the disposition of the case was reported.  

                                                                        
                                                

II. Poison Control Center Data - 1993 through 2003

	Results for the years 1993 through 2003 on the Poison Control Center
show only two cases reported for fomesafen. One exposure was in the
occupational class that produced dermal symptoms such as a skin rash.
The other exposure affected a child and no symptoms were reported for
this case.	

III. California Data - 1982 through 2003

	There were no reports of cases related to fomesafen. 

	

IV. National Pesticide Information Center

	On the list of the top 200 chemicals for which NPIC received calls from
1984-1991 inclusively, fomesafen was not reported to be involved in
human incidents.

V.  NIOSH SENSOR

	

	Out of 5,899 reported cases from 1998-2003, none involved fomesafen.

VI.  Scientific Literature

	No scientific literature was found concerning human poisoning or other
adverse effects from exposure to fomesafen.

VII. Conclusion

	

	There were almost no reports of ill effects from exposure to fomesafen
in the available data bases.  

VIII.  Recommendations

								

	No
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