BUD NIP, the Nasty Secret of Produce Resellers. (Chlorpropham)

This YouTube Video was my first introduction to a product called BUD NIP, also known as Chlorpropham ...

This little girl and her grandmother deserve a medal for simply wanting to know more, and to seek out the truth, and then letting us all know about it!

Here is the PIP (or Pestcide Information Page) from Cornell University for this Chemical.

I encourage you to read it then decide for yourself if having food which does not bud in your fridge is worth the outcome.

I've highlighted little bits I found funny, intereting or down right horrifying!

My comments are in bold red.

TRADE OR OTHER NAMES

• Beet-Kleen,
• Bud Nip,
• Chloro IPC,
• CIPC, Furloe,
• Sprout Nip,
• Spud-Nic,
• Taterpex,
• Triherbide-CIPC
• and Unicrop CIPC.

REGULATORY STATUS

( I like this one!)

Products containing chlorpropham must bear the signal word "Caution" (1).

INTRODUCTION

• Chlorpropham is a plant growth regulator used for preemergence control of grass weeds in alfalfa, lima and snap beans, blueberries, cane berries, carrots, cranberries, ladino clover, garlic, seed grass, onions, spinach, sugar beets, tomatoes, safflower, soybeans, gladioli and woody nursery stock.

• It is also used to inhibit potato sprouting and for sucker control in tobacco (1). Chlorpropham is available in emulsifiable concentrate and liquid formulations.

TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS ACUTE TOXICITY

• Chlorpropham is moderately toxic by ingestion (2).
• It may cause irritation of the eyes or skin (2).
• Symptoms of poisoning in laboratory animals have included listlessness, incoordination, nose bleeds, protruding eyes, bloody tears, difficulty in breathing, prostration, inability to urinate, high fevers, and death.  WOW
• Autopsies of animals have shown inflammation of the stomach and intestinal lining, congestion of the brain, lungs and other organs, and degenerative changes in the kidneys and liver (2) Irritble Bowl Syndrom/Desease Anyone??
• The oral LD50 for chlorpropham in rats ranges from 1,200 mg/kg to 3,800 mg/kg (1, 2), and in rabbits is 5,000 mg/kg (2).
• The 4-hour inhalation LC50 in rats is > 32 mg/l (4).

CHRONIC TOXICITY

Chronic exposure of laboratory animals has caused retarded growth, increased liver, kidney and spleen weights, congestion of the spleen and death (2).

No deaths or micropathological abnormalities occurred in rats given diets containing 2% chlorpropham for 90 days (4).

Reproductive Effects

• Long-term exposure to chlorpropham may cause adverse reproductive effects (2).
• Chlorpropham may cross the placenta (2). MOTHER OF GOD.
• In reproductive studies with rats, 500 mg/kg, the highest dose tested, produced no adverse effects (5).

Teratogenic Effects

• No birth defects occurred in a 3-generation study with rats (4).
• Mutagenic Effects EPA states that, "The single acceptable mutagenicity study (gene mutation) was negative" (5).

Carcinogenic Effects

• Long-term exposure to chlorpropham may cause tumors (2). But really, what doesn't anymore? Oh yeah REAL food!
• In one experiment chlorpropham initiated skin cancer in mice, but this result was not confirmed by a later study (2).
• Organ Toxicity No information was found. Fate in Humans and Animals No information was found.

ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS

Effects on Birds

• Chlorpropham is practically non-toxic to waterfowl (5).
• Its LD50 in mallards is > 2,000 mg/kg (1, 4).

Effects on Aquatic Organisms

• Chlorpropham is moderately toxic to cold and warm water freshwater fish (5).
• The LC50 for chlorpropham in rainbow trout is 3 to 6 ppm, and 6.3 to 6.8 ppm in bluegill sunfish (1).
• Chlorpropham accumulated in the skinned fillet of bluegill sunfish to 100 times the levels in surrounding water (5).

Effects on Other Animals (Nontarget species)

No information was found.

ENVIRONMENTAL FATE

• Breakdown of Chemical in Soil and Groundwater Chlorpropham has some potential to contaminate groundwater because it is highly soluble in water and it has only a moderate tendency to adsorb to soil particles (3, 5).
• Chlorpropham adsorbs strongly to organic matter, so it is unlikely to leach through soils high in organic matter.
• Chlorpropham does not readily adsorb to montmorillonite or kaolinite clays (4). Chlorpropham is subject to degradation by soil microbes.
• Photodegradation and volatilization do not readily occur. Increasing temperatures above 35 degrees C and increasing soil moisture capacity may increase volatilization (4). Soil half-lives from 35 days (3) to 65 days at 15 degrees C or 30 days at 29 degrees C (4) have been reported.
• Degradation rates are affected by microbial activity and soil moisture levels (4).
• Breakdown of Chemical in Surface Water Chlorpropham is not subject to hydrolysis in aqueous solution (5).
• Breakdown of Chemical in Vegetation Chlorpropham is absorbed by the roots of susceptible grass seedlings and transported throughout the plant. It is absorbed more slowly by leaves (4).
• It suppresses plant transpiration and respiration and inhibits root and epicotyl growth (5).