Water & Air / Compounds / Aldicarb

Aldicarb in water and air: safety profile

Extreme risk

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

1985 California watermelon mass-poisoning cohort (~1,373 illness reports across Western states) is the canonical 'off-label-use food-supply poisoning' incident in US pesticide history. EPA + Bayer voluntary cancellation 2010 and food-tolerance phase-out trace back to this incident.

What is aldicarb?

The IUPAC name is 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal O-(methylcarbamoyl)oxime.

Also known as: 2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal O-(methylcarbamoyl)oxime, Aldicarbe, Temik, Temik 10 G.

IUPAC name
2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal O-(methylcarbamoyl)oxime
CAS number
116-06-3
Molecular formula
C7H14N2O2S
Molecular weight
190.26 g/mol
SMILES
CC(C)(C=NOC(=O)NC)SC
PubChem CID
9570071

Risk for people

Extreme risk

1985 California watermelon mass-poisoning cohort (~1,373 illness reports across Western states) is the canonical 'off-label-use food-supply poisoning' incident in US pesticide history. EPA + Bayer voluntary cancellation 2010 and food-tolerance phase-out trace back to this incident.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Aldicarb. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA——
IARC——

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter aldicarb

  • legacy soil and groundwater contamination
  • banned pesticide residues

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Aldicarb:

  • Oxamyl (Vydate)
    Trade-offs: Lower acute toxicity (WHO Class Ib vs Ia). Shorter soil persistence. Less effective for some nematode species.
    Relative cost: 1.2×
  • 1,3-Dichloropropene (Telone)
    Trade-offs: Fumigant — requires buffer zones. Ozone-depleting potential. Soil microbial disruption.
    Relative cost: Similar

Frequently asked questions

Is aldicarb safe for you?

1985 California watermelon mass-poisoning cohort (~1,373 illness reports across Western states) is the canonical 'off-label-use food-supply poisoning' incident in US pesticide history. EPA + Bayer voluntary cancellation 2010 and food-tolerance phase-out trace back to this incident.

What products contain aldicarb?

Aldicarb appears in: legacy soil and groundwater contamination; banned pesticide residues.

See Aldicarb in the water app

Look up products containing aldicarb, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in water View raw API data

Sources (6)
  1. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 116-06-3 — reference
  2. EPA Aldicarb (Temik) Voluntary Cancellation — food-tolerance phase-out (2010) — regulatory
  3. WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard — Class Ia (extremely hazardous) (2019) — regulatory
  4. ATSDR Toxicological Profile for Aldicarb (1992) — regulatory
  5. Goldman et al. — California watermelon aldicarb mass-poisoning incident, ~1,373 illness reports (1990) — scientific
  6. NIOSH Carbamate Cholinesterase Surveillance — applicator guidance (2018) — regulatory

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →