(SevinTM) is said by EPA to be “one of the most widely applied
insecticides in the US,” since use began in 1959, with 10-15
million pounds used annually. This widespread use is a major
reason why carbaryl may pose more dangers than most other
pesticides. Manufactured by Union Carbide, this broad-spectrum
insecticide is used on a variety of crops, in forestry and on
ornamentals, in home gardens, and on livestock and pets. One
manufacturing method uses methyl isocyanate (MIC), the agent
responsible for thousands of deaths in Bhopal, India when a
Union Carbide plant leaked the deadly 1980, five years after the
special review process was initiated due to concerns regarding
teratogenicity, fetotoxicity, mutagenicity, oncogenicity,
neurotoxicity, and viral enhancement, the review was abruptly
withdrawn. Criticizing the action, Janette Sherman, M.D., then a
member of EPA’s Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances,
commented that, “it was a political and economic decision.” In
April 1991, during an assessment of data n