Application details
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies the herbicide as toxicity class III - slightly toxic.[6] The Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) for Alachlor is zero, to prevent long-term effects. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for drinking water is two parts per billion (2 ppb).[8]
The EPA cited the following long-term effects for exposures at levels above the MCL in drinking water exposed to runoff from herbicide used on row crops: slight skin and eye irritation; at lifetime exposure to levels above the MCL: potential damage to liver, kidney, spleen; lining of nose and eyelids; cancer. The major source of environmental release of alachlor is through its manufacture and use as a herbicide. Alachlor was detected in rural domestic well water by EPA's National Survey of Pesticides in Drinking Water Wells. EPA's Pesticides in Ground Water Database reports detections of alachlor in ground water at concentrations above the MCL in at least 15 U.S. states.[1]
Alachlor is a controlled substance under Australian law and is listed as a Schedule 7 (Dangerous Poison) substance. Access, use and storage are strictly controlled under state and territory law.[9] Since 2006, use of alachlor as a herbicide has been banned in the European Union.[2]
In "a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides," in January, 2012 a French court found Monsanto, which manufactures Lasso, liable for chemical poisoning of a French farmer in 2004.[10] In 2015 a French appeals court upheld the ruling and ordered the company to "fully compensate" the grower.