Insecticide Use Around Food 1955

Pesticides are often referred to according to the type of pest they control. Some examples of chemically-related pesticides include: 1) Organophosphate Pesticides - These pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting the enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Most organophosphates are insecticides. They were developed during the early 19th century, but their effects on insects, which are similar to their effects on humans, were discovered in 1932. Some are very poisonous (they were used in World War II as nerve agents). However, they usually are not persistent in the environment; 2) Carbamate Pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting an enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. The enzyme effects are usually reversible. 3) Organochlorine Insecticides were commonly used in the past, but many have been removed from the market due to their health and environmental effects and their persistence (including DDT and chlordane); 4) Pyrethroid Pesticides were developed as a synthetic version of the naturally occurring pesticide pyrethrin, which is found in chrysanthemums. They have been modified to increase their stability in the environment. Some synthetic pyrethroids are toxic to the nervous system. For more information on pesticides, go to the USEPA website http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/index.htm . This is clipped from the 1955 film, Everyman's enemy the housefly (18.54 min). The film shows the life of the housefly and its importance in the spread of disease, especially typhoid and dysentry. Control measures applicable to refuse sites, food processing factories and hospitals are also discussed. The entire film is available at the Wellcome Library at http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/index.html .