Section 156.62 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR)

Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations

Title 40 is a part of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. Title 40 arranges mainly environmental regulations that were promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency , based on the provisions of United States laws...

 establishes four Toxicity Categories for acute hazards of pesticide

Pesticide

Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...

 products, Category I being the highest toxicity category. Most human hazard, precautionary statements, and human personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury by blunt impacts, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in...

 statements are based upon the Toxicity Category of the pesticide product as sold or distributed. In addition, toxicity categories may be used for regulatory purposes other than labeling

Labeling

Labeling or labelling may refer to:* Automatic label placement* Labeling , as in cartography and maps* Labelling, the act of a society using a word or phrase to describe or ostracize a person* Labeling theory, in sociology...

, such as classification for restricted use and requirements for child-resistant packaging

Child-resistant packaging

Child-resistant packaging or C-R packaging is special packaging used to reduce the risk of children ingesting dangerous items. This is often accomplished by the use of a special safety cap. It is required by regulation for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, pesticides, and household...

.

In certain cases, statements based upon the Toxicity Category of the product as diluted for use are also permitted. A Toxicity Category is assigned for each of five types of acute exposure, as specified in the table below.

Overview

The four toxicity categories, from one to four are:

• Toxicity category I is Highly toxic and Severely irritating,
• Toxicity category II is Moderately toxic and Moderately irritating,
• Toxicity category III is Slightly toxic and Slightly irritating,
• Toxicity category IV is Practically non-toxic and not an irritant.

Acute toxicity categories for pesticide products

In the following table, the leftmost column lists the route of administration.

	I	II	III	IV
Oral Oral administration Oral administration is a route of administration where a substance is taken through the mouth.-Terminology:Per os is an adverbial phrase meaning literally from Latin "by mouth" or "by way of the mouth." The expression is used in medicine to describe a treatment that is taken orally. The...	Up to and including 50 mg/kg	From 50 to 500 mg/kg	From 500 to 5000 mg/kg	Greater than 5000 mg/kg
Inhalation Inhalation Inhalation is the movement of air from the external environment, through the air ways, and into the alveoli....  LC50	Up to and including 0.2 mg/L	From 0.2 to 2 mg/L	From 2. to 20 mg/L	Greater than 20 mg/L
Dermal LD50	Up to and including 200 mg/kg	From 200 to 2000 mg/kg	From 2000 to 20,000 mg/L	Greater than 20,000 mg/kg
Eye Effects	Corrosive; corneal opacity not reversible within 7 days	Corneal opacity reversible within 7 days; irritation persisting for 7 days	No corneal opacity; irritation reversible within 7 days	No irritation.
Skin Effects	Corrosive	Severe irritation at 72 hours	Moderate irritation at 72 hours	Mild or slight irritation at 72 hours