Carbofuran

Carbofuran is the most toxic of the carbamate pesticides. It is marketed under the trade name Furadan, and used to control insects in a wide variety of field crops, including corn and soybeans.

It has the highest acute toxicity to humans of any insecticide widely used on field crops. A quarter teaspoon can be fatal. Most carbofuran is applied by commercial applicators using closed systems with engineered controls, so that there is no exposure to the chemical through pouring or measuring. Toxic effects are due to its activity as a cholinesterase inhibitor.

Carbofuran usage has increased in recent years because it is one of the few insecticides effective on soybean aphids, which have expanded their range since 2002 to include most soybean-growing regions of the U.S.

The systematic name of carbofuran is 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl methylcarbamate and its CAS number is 1563-66-2.

Oral LD50: Rats 8-14 mg/kg, Dogs 19 mg/kg

See also: Dutch standards.