Chronic Toxicity and Chronic Effects

Any harmful effects that occur from repeated small doses over a period of time are called chronic effects. The chronic toxicity of a pesticide is determined by observing symptoms of test animals, which result from long-term exposure to the active ingredient.

Some of the suspected chronic effects from exposure to certain pesticides include birth defects (teratogenesis); fetal toxicity (fetotoxic effects); production of tumors (oncogenesis), either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous/carcinogenesis); genetic changes (mutagenesis); blood disorders (hemotoxic effects); nerve disorders (neurotoxic effects); and reproductive effects. The chronic toxicity of a pesticide is more difficult to determine through laboratory analysis than is acute toxicity. The product’s MSDS also contains information regarding chronic symptoms of pesticide exposure.