This is really important. As far as organophosphate nerve agents are concerned, there is not a whole lot of difference between an insects nervous system and that of a human.
Malathion, a common pesticide that Jerry Brown sprayed on a lot of southern California, is one of the least toxic of these chemicals, as far as *immediate* lethality goes. However, long term effects are unknown.
The acute LD50 (lethal dose for 50% of a group) of Malathion ranges between 1522mg and 1945mg/kg of body weight. To apply that to humans, a dose of 5 oz. would be fatal to a chemically sensitive human of 70kg (154lbs).
Parathion, the agricultural pesticide, invented by IG Farben in the 1940s, is so deadly that crop dusters must wear “space suits” with independent oxygen supplies.
The equivalent toxic dose of Parathion in humans is one tenth of an ounce. Military strength agents are much more potent.
This is not a direct reply, but...
Can’t tell from this news item if the nerve agents can have long-term effects because they are persistent in the body or because they damage they do may become manifest over time. It’s therefore not clear, to me, if this curative must be administered immediately to be of benefit. In any case, this looks like good news.
Monitor 4.
Watched them dreamily as they sprayed it on the potato fields. Year after year. Asked the pilot one day how you could tell if you got a dose. He said “You just stop breathing”. They never used protective gear. Used it in the big greenhouse. Had a respirator. But absorption through the skin. You could always feel it. Started with a pain in the neck.
Heard it was the bastard child of a Nazi nerve gas.
Not sayin’ I’ve ever been right in the head. Overexposure to all the different crap over the years couldn’t have helped.
http://pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC32881
As I seem to recall, organophosphates were implicated by some in causing “mad cow” prion formation.
Very interesting...