Cyfluthrin
Encyclopedia
Cyfluthrin is a synthetic pyrethroid
Pyrethroid
A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins produced by the flowers of pyrethrums . Pyrethroids now constitute a major commercial household insecticides...

 derivative that is used as an insecticide
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...

 in restricted use pesticide and common household pesticide. It is a complex organic compound, and the commercial product is sold as a mixture of isomer
Isomer
In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...

s. Like most pyrethroids, it is highly toxic to fish, invertebrates, and insects, but it is far less toxic to humans. It is generally supplied as a 10-25% liquid concentrate for commercial use and is diluted prior to spraying onto agricultural crops and outbuildings.

Safety

In rats, the LD50
LD50
In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 , LC50 or LCt50 of a toxin, radiation, or pathogen is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration...

's are 500, 800 (oral), and 600 (skin) mg/kg.

Excessive exposure can cause nausea, headache, muscle weakness, salivation, shortness of breath and seizures. In humans, it is deactivated by enzymatic hydrolysis to several carboxylic acid metabolites, whose urinary excretion half-lives are in a range of 5–7 hours. Worker exposure to the chemical can be monitored by measurement of the urinary metabolites, while severe overdosage may be confirmed by quantification of cyfluthrin in blood or plasma.

Health and safety risks are controlled by Right to know
Right to know
"Right to know", in the context of United States workplace and community environmental law, is the legal principle that the individual has the right to know the chemicals to which they may be exposed in their daily living. It is embodied in federal law in the United States as well as in local laws...

laws that exist in most developed countries. Cyfluthrin is regulated in the US by the EPA.
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