TOXICOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE HERBICIDE 'WHITE' IN ANIMALS.

Abstract : WHITE is an herbicide used extensively as a defoliant and weed killer. The purpose of this study was to assess the biological effects of this system in animals under conditions of moderate and high temperature and humidity. The toxicological studies performed indicate that a single, direct exposure to a spray of WHITE would not be likely to constitute a hazard to the skin nor a systematic hazard by inhalation. Contamination of the eyes by droplets as large as 0.2 m1 would not be expected to produce permanent damage. Temporary irritation and corneal opacity could result from droplets 0.05 to 0.2 m1. Repeated exposures of the same skin area could result in local cutaneous damage that would be reversible when exposures were discontinued. Based on intragastric and oral toxicity studies in several animal species, a man would have to swallow grams-per-kilogram quantities of WHITE for a single dose to be lethal. (Author)