	

	UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

	WASHINGTON, D.C.  20460

OFFICE OF PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES

	July 25, 2006

MEMORANDUM

				

SUBJECT:	Review of Mefluidide Incident Reports

		DP Barcode D324824, Chemical #114001,114002,114003

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:		Pramod Terse, Toxicologist

		Reregistration Branch 4

		Health Effects Division (7509P)

BACKGROUND

			

	The following data bases have been consulted for the poisoning incident
data on the active ingredient Mefluidide (114001,114002,114003):

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 to the
certainty of the information collected and the severity of the case.

MEFLUIDIDE REVIEW

I. Incident Data System

	There were no reports for mefluidide in the Incident Data System.

                                                                        
                                                

II. Poison Control Center Data - 1993 through 2003

	There were no reports located in the Poison Control Center records from
1993 through 2003 involving mefluidide.

III. California Data - 1982 through 2003

	Detailed descriptions of 1 case was submitted to the California
Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program (1982-2003) were reviewed.  In
the case, a worker reported a rash on the side of their face after
several workers passed a vehicle that sprayed the product.

	

IV. National Pesticide Information Center

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

V.  NIOSH SENSOR

	

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

VI.  Scientific Literature

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

VII. Conclusion

	

	There was only one report of an ill effect from exposure to mefluidide
in the available data bases.

VIII.  Recommendations

								

	No recommendations are made based on the limited information available.


cc:	Mefluidide file (114001,114002,114003)

	David J. Miller (7509P)

	Mark Howard (7508P)

									

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