Below it the archived information from the initial launch back in September, 2000.

Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS)


New PAN Pesticide Database
September 7, 2000, To find out the vital statistics about a particular pesticide, you might talk to a farmer about the pests it is used for; a chemist about its breakdown products; a pesticide activist or government organization about regulatory status; and a physician about toxicity. Or you could visit PAN North America’s new pesticide database athttp://www.pesticideinfo.org.The PAN Pesticide Database is the largest, most comprehensive collection of pesticide data in the world, including information about 5,100 pesticide active ingredients, pesticide breakdown products and related chemicals. The system also provides information on over 100,000 formulated pesticide products registered by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Department of Pesticide Regulation. For each chemical with available data, the PAN Pesticide Database provides the following information:* Basic chemical information including uses and chemical classifications, related chemicals, and Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number.* Toxicity characteristics, including acute toxicity, cancer ratings from U.S. EPA, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the State of California, as well as other chronic toxicity information on reproductive and developmental toxicity (California Proposition 65) and suspected endocrine disruption.* Regulatory status, including U.S. and California product registration. With additional funding, we hope to extend this to include information on international pesticide product regulatory status.

* Aquatic ecotoxicity information, including acute toxicity ratings for major taxa groups such as amphibians, fishes, zooplankton and phytoplankton. This information was generated by evaluating more than 170,000 ecotoxicity studies collected by the U.S. EPA. In the near future, we also plan to include data on terrestrial plants and animals.

To build the PAN Pesticide Database, PAN staff collected information from literally hundreds of sources and then selected the most comprehensive and accurate of these datasets to include in the database. Integrating many datasets makes our database highly comprehensive, and allows us to cross check sources for accuracy.

Throughout the Web site, information is completely referenced and links to original data sources are provided. In addition to standard reference information, we also note when the dataset was last updated. For example, most cancer lists are updated only once per year, while new U.S. EPA-registered pesticide products are added on a daily basis. Technical terms and regulatory information are fully documented in easy-to-understand language for the first time user, with links to more in-depth information for the professional.

While the PAN Pesticide Database contains a large collection of pesticide information, there are many sections that PAN plans to expand further as time and resources permit. These include international regulatory information and local pesticide use data where available. The human health section could be expanded to include medical information (i.e., symptoms of poisoning) and specific organ effects of pesticide exposure. A chemistry section could be created to include breakdown pathways, chemical structures, and physical properties. Lastly, PAN plans to present information on pesticides commonly used on particular crops — important information for community groups wondering what they might be exposed to if they live next to a strawberry field, for example.

Finally, our end users are very important to us (that’s you!). Please let us know if you have particular data needs or know about some data sources we might have missed. Additionally, if you have data you would be willing to provide for incorporation into the PAN Pesticide Database, please let us know by contacting stephanorme@panna.org or skegley@panna.org.

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on pesticide issues that don’t always get coverage by the mainstream media. It’s produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.

You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and all contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visit our extensive web site at http://www.panna.org to learn more about getting involved.