1.800.858.7378 npic@ace.orst.edu
We're open from 8:00AM to 12:00PM Pacific Time, Mon-Fri

• Health & Environment
  • Human Health
  • Animal Health
  • Safe Use Practices
  • Food Safety
  • Environment
    • Air
    • Water
    • Soil
    • Wildlife
    • Plants
• Pest Control
  • Identify Your Pest
  • Learn About Your Pest
  • Control Your Pest
  • Integrated Pest Management
• Pesticide Products
  • NPRO: Pesticide Product Search
  • Pesticide Ingredients
    • Active Ingredients
    • Other/Inert Ingredients
  • Low-Risk Pesticides
  • Organic Pesticide Ingredients
• Pesticide Incidents
  • Human Exposure
  • Pet Exposure
  • Environmental Incident
  • Illegal Pesticide Activity
  • Problem With Labels or Containers
• Emergency
  • Human Poisonings
  • Pet Poisoning
  • Spills and Contamination
  • Wildlife Poisoning / Environmental Incident
• 

You are here: NPIC Home Page Pesticide Ingredients Active Ingredients Chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide. It is no longer registered for use inside homes except as bait in containers, but it is still used in agriculture, on golf courses, and to control public health pests such as fire ants. Chlorpyrifos blocks an enzyme that stops nerve cells from firing without stopping. If the enzyme is blocked, the nerves don't send normal signals, and the nervous system fails. Chlorpyrifos is used in agriculture, but it is no longer registered for residential use.

General Questions about Chlorpyrifos

What is chlorpyrifos? What are some products that contain chlorpyrifos? How does chlorpyrifos work? How might I be exposed to chlorpyrifos What are some signs and symptoms from a brief exposure to chlorpyrifos? What happens to chlorpyrifos when it enter the body? Is chlorpyrifos likely to contribute to the development of cancer? Has anyone studied non-cancer effects from long-term exposure to chlorpyrifos? Are children more sensitive to chlorpyrifos than adults? What happens to chlorpyrifos in the environment? Can chlorpyrifos affect birds, fish, and other wildlife?

General Fact Sheet

Biomarkers of Exposure: Organophosphates Medical Case Profile

Pesticides: Testing for Exposure Using the Clinical Laboratory Medical Case Profile

If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

Please read our disclaimer | Contact us | About NPIC | En español

NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83947901). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.