to me, the epa is a totally unnecessary and totally unconstitutional government entity. so my trusting them to do anything is pretty much not gonna happen. if anything, i'm going to petition my government representatives to chop this and the batfe and other such abusive government bureaus. i doubt the epa will do anything unless it somehow impairs commerce and business anyway. if a bunch of businesses are illegally confiscated because of a pesticide ruling, the epa will be there with bells on and the edict in hand.
1.4 Regulations and guidelines
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) (1997)
has recommended 12 mg/m3 as the 8-h time-weighted average threshold limit value for
occupational exposures to methyl iodide in workplace air. Values of 1–28 mg/m3 have
been used as standards or guidelines in other countries (International Labour Office,
1991). Methyl iodide is considered to be a human carcinogen in Germany (Deutsches
Forschungsgemeinschaft, 1998).
2. Studies of Cancer in Humans
No data were available to the Working Group.
3. Studies of Cancer in Experimental Animals
Methyl iodide was tested for carcinogenicity in one experiment in rats by subcutaneous
administration and in a screening test for lung adenomas in strain A mice by
intraperitoneal injection. It induced local sarcomas in rats after single or repeated subcutaneous
injections; a marginally increased incidence of lung tumours was observed in
mice (IARC, 1986).
4.1.1 Humans
The inhalation of trace amounts of [132I]methyl iodide was followed by a decrease in
plasma radioactivity, a thyroid uptake pattern and urinary excretion that were similar to
those observed after oral administration of inorganic iodide (IARC, 1986).
Methyl iodide incubated with human erythrocytes conjugates nonenzymatically with
glutathione. In addition, an enzymatic conjugation was apparent with erythrocytes from
10/17 donors, but even among these people, the nonenzymatic process was dominant
(Hallier et al., 1990).
4.1.2 Experimental animals
Data from several experiments with rats suggest that absorbed methyl iodide is
excreted mainly in bile. Approximately 25% of an oral dose of 50 mg/kg bw was excreted
in bile as S-methylglutathione, while 2% of the same subcutaneous dose was recovered
from urine and 1% of a 76 mg/kg bw oral dose was present, unchanged, in expired air
within 30 min. The urinary metabolites detected in rats after subcutaneous injection,
presumed to originate from S-methylglutathione, were S-methylcysteine, N-acetyl-Smethylcysteine,
S-methylthioacetic acid and N-(methylthioacetyl)glycine (IARC, 1986).
4.2 Toxic effects
4.2.1 Humans
Workers affected by non-fatal poisoning showed many neurological symptoms such
as visual and psychological disturbances, vertigo and weakness (IARC, 1986).
4.2.2 Experimental animals
Toxic effects observed in rodents after exposure to methyl iodide included narcosis,
lung congestion and liver and kidney damage. Oral administration to rats reduced nonprotein
thiol concentrations in liver and kidney (IARC, 1986).
5. Evaluation
No epidemiological data relevant to the carcinogenicity of methyl iodide were
available.
There is limited evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of methyl
iodide.
Overall evaluation
Methyl iodide is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans (Group 3).
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol71/mono71-106.pdf