Index

Introduction

The topic of this website will be the study of the effects, generally the adverse effects, of Sevin Pesticide on non-target organisms (non-target: animals or plants other than the ones which the pesticide is intended to kill) . The target organisms of the pesticide include Japanese Beetles, grasshoppers, ants, tics and moths and is listed with a use status as "General Use". In a variety of different experiments we tested the effects of Sevin Pesticide on bacteria colonies, Drosophila melangaster (fruit flies) mortality and reproduction, Radish and Bean germination, and Daphnia mortality.

The active ingredient in Sevin Pesticide is Carbaryl. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service by Information Ventures, Inc. the formulations of Carbaryl is as follows:

The following are the Chemical Characteristics of Carbaryl, the active ingredient in Sevin Pesticide.

- Physical state: crystalline solid
- Color: white
- Odor: essentially odorless
- Melting point: 142 degrees C
- Vapor pressure: < 0.005 mm H9 at 26 C
- Flash point: 380 degrees F

Toxicological Characteristics

- Acute Oral LD50: 225 mg/kg, Toxicity Category II
- Acute Dermal LD50: > 2 g/kg, Toxicity Category III
- Primary Dermal Irritation: no irritation, Toxicity Category IV
- Primary Eye Irritation: Conjunctival irritation at 24 hours. Cleared
at 48 hours. Toxicity Category III

Oncogenicity: (physiological processes that cause disease)

Ten studies. Each study classified as supplemental. Collectively
these studies provide sufficient evidence that carbaryl is not oncogenic
in experimental animals. Eighteen-month mouse study was negative at 400
ppm. A 2-year rat feeding and oncogenicity study was negative at 200
ppm (parts per million)
Cornell University 2004

Our experiments were designed to test the safety of the pesticide when exposed to organisms that may be effected by it during it's use. Each experiment exposed the population of the organism to the pesticide for a designated period of time and sought to find any adverse effects. Overall, the data from the experiments has shown that the pesticide has differing effects, usually detrimental effects on the organisms it comes into contact with.

*For the purposes of this web page all references to pesticide imply Sevin Pesticide: Active ingredient: Carbaryl (1-napthyl), N-methyl carbonate…0.126%, Inert Ingredients…99.874%. top

Ultimately, we found that pesticide has adverse effects on the mortality of non-targets at high concentration, the reproduction of non-targets even at low concentration and the root development of plant life at higher concentration. While the concentration of pesticide in the plant and fly mortality tests are unreasonably high to what they would be exposed to for normal use, the low concentration that effected the fly reproduction shows that the pesticide is detrimental to the development of some non-target organisms.