Effects
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has one of the world's most extensive incident reporting systems. Between 1982 and 1992, 38 incidents involving dicofol alone were reported: systemic 19 (50%); skin 10 (26%); eye 8 (21%); and eye/skin 1 (3%). The number of incidents per 1,000 applications for all illnesses ranged from 0.11 to 0.21.
The US National Pesticides Telecommunications Network database collected reports from 1984 to 1991 showing 91 human, 9 animal and 31 other poisoning incidents for a total of 131 incidents involving dicofol from 571 phone calls made to the hotline.
An assessment of dicofol by the UK Pesticides Safety Directorate in 1996 found that residues in apples, pears, blackcurrants and strawberries were higher than expected.
There is no established US maximum contaminant level (MCL) or health advisory levels for residues of dicofol in drinking water. In the European Union, the maximum level is the same for all active ingredients 0.1 mg/l.
In 1990, the use of dicofol was suspended in Sweden for environmental reasons. In Switzerland its use is permitted for research purposes only. Throughout the European Union dicofol containing more than lg/kg (0.1%) of DDT or DDT related compounds cannot be used.
The 1998 US EPA review of dicofol recommended a number of changes in order to protect the environment and wildlife. Dicofol applications are limited to no more than one per year. In the UK, the maximum number of treatments permitted is two per year for apples and hops, and two per crop for strawberries, protected crops and tomatoes.
In 1980, an accident at the US Tower Chemical Company led to a release of dicofol into Lake Apopka in Florida. Ten years later Dr Guillette of Florida University linked this incident to a subsequent decline in the fertility of alligators in the lake. The US EPA is still not clear whether dicofol is involved in the reproductive failure of the alligator population following the accidental spill.
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