Glossary

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A

ADI - Acceptable Daily Intake; a measure of the quantity of a chemical that may be found in food which, it is believed, can be consumed on a daily basis over a lifetime without harm. Data for the calculation of an ADI may be derived from a variety of sources including laboratory and direct observations.

AOEL - Acceptable Operator Exposure Level.

AchE - The enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Its function is to terminate impulse transmissions at cholinergic synapses within the nervous system by breaking down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.

AchEl - Acetylcholinesterase inhibition; the mode of action for organophosphate insecticides.

Acute Toxicity - Adverse effects from a single exposure or effect over a short period of time (usually 96 hours or less).

Annex I - Annex 1 inclusion is a positive recommendation for registration eligibility of plant protection products per European Union (EU) Registration Directive 91/414/EEC. This legislation was enacted in 1993 and was to be completed in 10 years. It was intended as key legislation for interpretation on issues such as data requirements, uniform principles for evaluation of products, data protection and mutual recognition across EU countries.

Annex II - A continuation of registration eligibility for plant protection products per European Union (EU) Registration Directive 91/414/EEC; Annex II data relate to the active substance and not a specific product. For inclusion on Annex II the approval holder must demonstrate ownership of, or access to, all necessary data in order for the approval to continue. Approvals will be amended to implement any restrictions associated with the Annex 1 inclusion. These processes would also be applied to multi-active products.

Annex III - A continuation of registration eligibility for plant protection products per European Union (EU) Registration Directive 91/414/EEC; Annex III data is related to the final product and not the specific substance. Most Annex III data package submissions will be processed as part of the normal registration stream. Therefore the reregistration process will be completed within one year of the Annex III package submission deadline. Where Annex III requirements are not met, the approvals for the relevant products will be subject to revocation in line with current procedures (i.e. 0-2 years).

a.i. - Active ingredient; same as a.s. or active substance.

a.s. - Active substance; same as a.i. or active ingredient.

B

BMP - Best Management Practices; procedures to reduce pollution of surface waters.

BuChE - Butyrylcholinesterase. An enzyme, butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) is similar in structure to AchE, but it is encoded by a separate gene. BuChE is primarily located in the plasma and pancreas, although small quantities of it exist in all tissues including our blood. No neurological function has been shown definitively for BuChE in the developing or mature nervous system. Inhibition of BuChE is often used as an indicator of exposure to cholinesterase inhibiting pesticides such as organophosphates and carbamates.

C

ChEI - Butyrylcholinesterase inhibition.

Cholinesterase - An enzyme produced in the liver. One form, acetylcholinesterase, can be found at the neurosynaptic junctions while another, butyryl cholinesterase, is primarily located in the plasma and pancreas, although small quantities of it exist in all tissues including our blood. Organophosphate pesticides inhibit cholinesterase by forming covalent chemical bonds through a process called phosphorylation.

Chronic Toxicity - An adverse effect where symptoms develop slowly over a long period of time.

Consent Decree - An agreement made under the sanction of a court between the government and a party whereby the party agrees to cease certain activities that the government is alleging are improper or illegal. Upon approval of such agreement by the court, the government's action is dropped. A party may enter into a consent decree without making any admission of guilt.

Cumulative Risk - The risk of a common toxic effect associated with exposure by all relevant routes of exposure to a group of chemicals that share a common mechanism of toxicity.

D

Directive 91/414/EEC - The Plant Protection Products Directive (91/414/EEC) was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 15 July 1991 and came into force on 26 July 1993. It is intended to harmonise the overall arrangements for authorisation of plant protection products within the European Union.

E

EC50 - Exposure concentration of a material which has a defined effect upon 50 percent of the test population.

ECCO - European Community Co-ordination; The Commission established a procedure for peer review of monographs to help the decision-making process for Directive 91/414/EEC.

EINECS - European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances.

ELNCS - European List of Notified Chemical Substances.

ELV - Environmental Limit Values.

EPA - Environmental Protection Agency.

EQO - Environmental Quality Objective; a non-enforceable goal, which specifies a target for environmental quality in some particular environment, such as a river, beach or industrial site.

EQS - Environmental Quality Standard; a value, generally defined by regulation, which specifies the maximum permissible concentration of a chemical in an environmental sample, generally of air or water.

ESA - Endangered Species Act; legislation enacted in the United States to conserve and recover listed species which are endangered with extinction and protect the ecosystems upon which these species depend. Passed in 1973, it is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Services.

EU - European Union; created in 1950 as a European federation of six countries. It now comprises 15 countries that represent the interests of the Union as a whole and its 374 million citizens.

F

FAO - Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations; founded in 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural populations.

FDA - United States Food and Drug Administration which, among other responsibilities, enforces pesticide tolerances on food and feed products.

FIFRA - Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act; enacted in 1947 giving the US EPA the ability to regulate pesticides in the United States.

FQPA - Food Quality Protection Act. Enacted in the United States in1996 as an amendment to the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

G

GAP - Good Agricultural Practices; guidelines established to ensure a clean and safe working environment. GAP is a practice that minimizes the risk of causing pollution while protecting natural resources and allowing economic agriculture to continue.

GLP - Good Laboratory Practice; a compliance-monitoring program, through laboratory inspections and data audits, which assures the quality and integrity of test data.

I

IPM - Integrated Pest Management; an approach to pest control that uses multiple techniques (i.e. cultural, biological, chemical, regulatory) to bring pests below economic levels.

IRED - Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) issues an IRED for a pesticide that is undergoing reregistration. The IRED, issued after the US EPA completes the individual pesticide's aggregate risk assessment, may include taking risk reduction measures to gain the benefits of these changes before the final Registration Eligibility Decision (RED) can be issued following the US EPA's consideration of cumulative risks. See RED.

K

Kd - Soil-water partition coefficient.

Koc - Soil sorption coefficient, measured as the ratio of the amount of chemical adsorbed (per unit weight of organic carbon) to the concentration of the chemical in solution.

Kow - n-octanol/water partition coefficient. Kow is correlated to water solubility, soil/sediment sorption coefficient, and bioconcentration.

L

LC50 - LC50 Lethal Concentration of a toxicant that will kill 50 percent of the test population. A common measure of acute toxicity.

LD50 - Lethal Dose of a toxicant that will kill 50 percent of the test population. The lower the LD50, the more toxic the chemical.

M

MEL - Maximum Exposure Limit; the maximum permitted concentration of a chemical to which a worker may be exposed over an extended period of time.

MFO - Mixed Function Oxidases; enzymes that detoxify pesticides. Insects vary greatly in their MFOs, allowing some individual insects to be resistant to insecticides while others are susceptible.

MOE - Margin of Exposure; use of the MOE calculation allows for comparison of exposure routes, differences among chemicals, and identification of significant areas for exposure mitigation.

MRL - Maximum Residue Levels; the maximum level of a chemical that is permitted to be present in a food, usually expressed in milligrams of the chemical per kilogram of the food (mg/kg).

N

NGO - Non-Governmental Organization; a group that through grass roots activism, legal challenges, or political power can influence regulatory decisions.

NOAEL - No Observable Adverse Effect Level; a level of exposure that causes no observable harm. Same as NOEL.

NOEL - No Observable Effect Level; a level of exposure that causes no observable effect. Same as NOAEL.

O

OEL - Occupational Exposure Limit; the amount or concentration of a chemical to which workers may be exposed.

OP - Organophosphate; a group of synthetic insecticides derived from phosphoric acid that act to inhibit cholinesterase activity.

OSPAR - The Oslo Paris Convention was formed in 1992. OSPAR is the combination of the Oslo and Paris commissions and provides a list of substances of possible concern to the marine environment and prioritises the substances of highest concern for immediate action.

P

PIC - Prior Informed Consent; requires exporters trading in a list of hazardous substances to obtain the prior informed consent of importers before proceeding with the trade. In 1998, governments decided to strengthen the procedure by adopting the Rotterdam Convention, which made PIC legally binding. If a country agrees to import chemicals, the Convention promotes their safe use through labeling standards, technical assistance, and other forms of support. It also ensures that exporters comply with the requirements.

POPs - Persistent Organic Pollutants; chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment.

PPB - Parts per billion. One ppb is equivalent to one second in 32 years.

PPE - Personal Protective Equipment; equipment that is used to protect the worker from exposure. PPE includes items such as face shields, gloves, and water-resistant aprons.

PPM - Parts per million. One ppm is equivalent to one minute in two years.

PPP - Plant Protection Products.

R

RBC - Red Blood Cells.

RED - Registration Eligibility Decision; When the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) completed the review and risk management decision for a pesticide that is subject to reregistration (that is, one initially registered before November 1984), the Agency generally issues a Reregistration Eligibility Decision or RED document. The RED summarizes the risk assessment conclusions and outlines any risk reduction measures necessary for the pesticide to continue to be registered in the United States.

Restricted Use Pesticide - A pesticide classification used by the US EPA that allows applications of a pesticide to be made under the supervision of a certified pesticide applicator.

RfD - Reference Dose; a reference standard related to observable effect. It can also be referred to as the ADI or Acceptable Daily Intake.

T

TCP - 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol; the major product of degradation formed by cleavage of the phosphorus ester bond. It is the first step in detoxification, as TCP has no insecticidal activity.

TMDLs - Total Maximum Daily Loads; a TMDL is the sum of the allowable loads of a single pollutant from all contributing point and nonpoint sources as defined by the Clean Water Act in the Unites States. The calculation must include a margin of safety to ensure that the waterbody can be used for the purposes the State has designated. The calculation must also account for seasonal variation in water quality.

Tolerance - The permissible residue on a crop as established by a regulatory body. Tolerance is primarily a United States term and is analogous to the MRL established by many other countries.

U

USDA - United States Department of Agriculture.

W

WFD - Water Framework Directive; European Water Policy setting the objectives for water protection.

WHO - World Health Organization; the United Nations specialised agency for health that was established on 7 April 1948. Its mission is the attainment by all peoples for the highest possible level of health.

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The conclusions that are contained within this chlorpyrifos.com web site relating to toxicological and/or environmental properties and effects are based on research and studies conducted by Dow AgroSciences or third parties. All such conclusions and findings are considered to be the opinions of Dow AgroSciences. Data substantiating these conclusions are available upon request.