Monocrotophos — Worker Safety

Monocrotophos has a high acute oral toxicity. Rat LD₅₀ values assign the technical active ingredient (a.i.) to World Health Organization (WHO) class Ib (WHO 1992). The material is hydrophilic and is on the market mainly in aqueous liquid formulations. Because skin absorption of hydrophilic materials is generally slow, there is a wide gap between oral and dermal toxicity (see Skripsky and Loosli 1994, this volume). Therefore, dermal exposure during work (splashes, spray mist) is clearly less hazardous than oral uptake (careless handling, suicide).