Impacts of carbofuran on birds in Canada and the United State - Carbofuran and Wildlife Poisoning: Global Perspectives and Forensic Approaches - page 208

8 Impacts of carbofuran
on birds in Canada and
the United States
Pierre Mineau, 1 Linda Lyon, 2 Stella McMillin 3
1 National Wildlife Research Centre, Science and Technology Branch, Environment
Canada, Ottawa, K1A 0H3, CANADA
2 US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, 4401 N. Fairfax
Dr., Arlington, Virginia USA 22203
3 Pesticide Investigation Unit, Department of Fish and Game, 1701 Nimbus Road,
Suite F, Rancho Cordova, California USA 95670
8.1 Introduction and short registration history of carbofuran
in North America
The only manufacturer of carbofuran in the United States and Canada is the FMC Corporation
although, in Canada, carbofuran was sold and distributed by the Bayer Corporation. (The fi rst
Canadian labels, in 1970, were in the name of Niagara Chemicals, a division of FMC Corporation).
The only spray formulation of carbofuran marketed in North America is a 'fl owable' formula-
tion, which is a fi nely milled paste in a thick suspension. This formulation is known as Furadan
4.8 F, 480F or Furadan 4F though these products are identical. The applicator must mix the fl ow-
able formulation with water and agitate thoroughly to mix; otherwise, there is a high risk that the
application rate and ensuing residues will vary widely between different parts of the treatment area.
Registration authorities in Canada also reviewed a wettable powder formulation (75 WP) but, appar-
ently the latter was not registered - or if so not for very long.
Several granular formulations are registered for use in North America. The principal type con-
tains a sand core (silica) and is marketed as 3G, 5G, 10G, or 15G formulations which comprise
3, 5, 10 or 15% active ingredient (% ai) by weight respectively. The FMC also experimented
with a 2G formulation in rice (Flickinger, King, Stout et al. 1980). The 10G granule was the most
commonly used on row crops; the 3 and 5G products were used primarily in rice. This material has
the appearance of small round beads, about the size of beach sand, typically dyed pink, purple or