Companies That Manufacture Chlorpyrifos
There are five main companies today that manufacture Chlorpyrifos. They are Dow Agro Sciences LLC, Cheminova, Makteshim-Agan, Garda and Platte Chemical. Of these Dow is the most known and it manufactures the largest quantity which it markets all over the world through its company – Dow Chemical Company.
What exactly is Chlorpyrifos? Basically it is an organophosphate (OP) pesticide which is white in appearance, crystalline and hard and not very soluble in water. This is why the products that are made with this are usually a mixture of Chlorpyrifos and an oil based solution. Chlorpyrifos is a toxic substance that inhibits the action of acetylcholinesterase which interrupts the normal transmission of the nerve impulses in the body. In addition, it also affects the muscular tissue as well as the hormonal balance in the body. For years, the manufacturers of this chemical kept insisting that it was absolutely safe for human and animal health until tests proved otherwise. Today, they have been constricted from selling their product through retailers and it is sold only for agricultural and commercial use. There are however, doubts on this score too as the soil as well as the produce grown have tested positive for the content of Chlorpyrifos. There have been moves by farmers and their families to try and get legislation on this product but it hasn’t worked thus far.
– Dow Agro Sciences is a part of the Dow Chemical Company (today the company has merged with Elanco and is known as Dow Elanco). It manufactures the chemical in its plants in the UK and Michigan and sells them as products under the names Dursban and Lorsban.
– Another leading manufacturer of this chemical is Cheminova and its products too are used for agricultural purposes as well as termite, roach and pest control. The company is based in Denmark.
– Makteshim-Agan is another company in Spain that manufactures Chlorpyrifos – its manufacturing plant for this chemical is based in Israel.
– Then there is Gharda, India and Platte Chemical Company, US which also manufacture the chemical.