Dinoseb

EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)

0.007 mg/L

Dinoseb is an herbicide used to control weeds around soybeans, vegetables and cereals. It's also used as a pesticide and “corn yield enhancer.”

Although its use was banned in the United States in 1986, it remains a persistent waste chemical; a 2009 report from the Washington State Department of Agriculture lists it third among the top five waste pesticides, second if you don't include “hazardous waste not otherwise specified.”

Health Effects of Dinoseb

The EPA lists acute toxic effects including sweating, headache and mood changes. The fact sheet also warns that long term exposure can lead to “decreased body and thyroid weight, degeneration of testes [and] thickening of intestinal lining.” The agency also warns of problems with the reproductive system:

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Some people who drink water containing dinoseb well in excess of the maximum contaminant level [0.007 milligrams per Liter] over many years could experience reproductive difficulties.

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Water Treatment for Dinoseb

The EPA recommends granular activated carbon (GAC) for the treatment of dinoseb.

Source: EPA (1), EPA (2), Washington State Department of Agriculture, EXTOXNET, Photo: geograph.org.uk, author: Walter Baxter