In message , Martin Brown
writes
On 04/05/2013 08:30, Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , Martin Brown
writes
On 03/05/2013 21:41, Tim Lamb wrote:
There was a lot of interest last time this was aired but I was left with
a few unanswered questions...

You must not consume grapefruit when on statins. see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamottin

I asked how long it takes for the body to return to normal after
stopping medication and was told 2 weeks. I was also told to resume
treatment to double check any noted changes.

You might be better off asking sci.chem or med.something or other.

Remember that advice on the Internet is worth at most only what you
paid for it and in some cases considerably less.

Thanks for above. I was warned about grapefruit but not the actual
mechanism.

Somewhere back in my crop spraying days I remember spray can warnings
about *anti-choline esterase*. I still wonder what it meant!

I hope you are joking...

Not really. Apart from a fully closed cab with active air filtering and
remote sprayer controls, PPE is difficult to achieve.

Direct contact with actives is simple but diluted volatiles find their
way into tractor cabs of my vintage. I'm still here so it can't have
been that bad although I still wonder about long term health effects.

The short version is "Beware of Nerve Gas". PPE is essential.

They are targeted specifically at insect nervous systems but would do
you no good at all if you got contaminated with them. Pinpoint pupils
is the first symptom of poisoning and requires urgent treatment.

Insecticide researchers stumbled across a new class of them. ICI's
Amiton aka VG was one of the first but was too toxic for safe use.

The very nasty area denial agent VX was a military research derivative
and the Germans in WWII were convinced that the allies had similar
nerve agents to Tabun and Sarin by the secrecy surrounding DDT.

http://www.aadet.com/article/VX_%28nerve_agent%29

Ones used as insecticides tended to be rapidly degraded in the
environment. Malathion and dimethoate among the more common ones.

I think Dimethoate was withdrawn years ago which was a pity as it was
about the only useful chemical for Crane Fly larvae. (Dursban).

Malathion has relatively low human toxicity for a nerve agent.

Too many insects are immune to them now so neonicotinoids are the new
flavour of the day. they are getting a bad rap for harming bees
although it is unclear to me if this is fair since many of the crops
they are used on are wind pollenated and do not attract bees!

I am out of touch now as I have stopped arable cropping. I have an idea
that the insecticide is applied to Rape seed so may still be slightly
active at flowering.


--
Tim Lamb