propoxur

It's called propoxur, a fast-acting insecticide used to kill fleas and ticks on pets, ants, etc., but it's not approved by EPA as an indoor residential spray.

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

Click here to send a letter to PETCO Chair Brian Devine, PETCO CEO James M. Myers and PetSmart CEO Robert F. Moran, asking them not to sell dangerous flea products, especially flea collars with two pesticides called propoxur and tetrachlorvinphos.

Gina Solomon: Tell PETCO & PetSmart to Take Toxic Flea Products Off Their Shelves 2010

There are other chemicals besides DDT that control bedbugs such as propoxur, but in 2007 the EPA banned it for indoor use.

Information Liberation 2010

But the World Health Organization reports that "propoxur is not considered mutagenic, embryotoxic, or teratogenic WHO, 2003."

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

And according to the CDC, "propoxur does not accumulate in blood or tissues and is eliminated rapidly from the body."

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

And U.S. Representative Jean Schmidt R-OH has introduced legislation that would force EPA to allow Ohio to use propoxur indoors.

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

The State House of Representatives has passed a resolution, by a vote of 97-0, asking Congress to urge EPA to approve an emergency exemption for propoxur.

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

In 2007 EPA accepted voluntary withdrawal of "all indoor spray uses for propoxur that may result in non-occupational exposure for children pdf," given that even low exposures have been linked to brain development problems in kids.

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

While the state had previously been granted exemptions to use propoxur sprays indoors, last year EPA turned an exemption down due to concern that children's exposures would be "too high -- far too high -- and potentially expose children to nervous-system damage" given current formulations and intended-use plans.

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011

So there's not a universal consensus that the propoxur spray ban is called for.

Bill Chameides: Is Propoxur the Way to Not Let the Bedbugs Bite? Bill Chameides 2011