l: y STATE May 1950BOARD E-800 United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Administration Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine STUDIES ON LINDANE RESIDUES IN MILK WHEN APPLIED IN DAIRY BARNS AND ON DAIRY COWS Prepared by Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Cornell University, and Rutgers University-^/ Lindane has been found by various investigators to be an effective residual insecticide for the control of the house fly (Musca domestica L. ), including strains resistant to DDT. This is the common name for a chemical containing not less than 99 percent of gamma isomer of benzene hexachloride. It has also been demonstrated to be effective against Sarcoptes and Choroptes mites on dairy animals, and generally superior to other treatments. Extensive investigations with lindane and other benzene hexachloride insecticides for the control of mange caused by these mites in dairy cattle were carried out for several years at Cornell University. The Federal Bureau of Animal Industry and various other research institutions have also shown that mixed-isomer grades of benzene hexachloride and/ or lindane are effective for mange control of dairy and other livestock. Technical benzene hexachloride contains several isomers, some of which possess an undesirable odor or are hazardous from the stand- point of chronic toxicity to man and animals. Lindane is practically free of odor and is considered less toxic chronically than the technical 1/ These investigations were undertaken in cooperation with the California Spray -Chemical Corporation and the Hooker Electrochemical Corporation. The work of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quaran- tine was under the immediate supervision of C. H. Condron and R. W. Wells, Kerrville, Tex. The investigations at Cornell University were carried out by H. H. Schwardt, D.W. Baker, and L. B. Norton, and those at Rutgers University were conducted by Elton J. Hansens. Most of the analytical work was done by the Hooker Electrochemical Corpora- tion, although some analyses of milk were also made by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. Studies on the effect of the lindane treatments on the flavor or odor of milk were made by the Bureau of Dairy Industry, of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Dairy Industry, Cornell University, and the Dairy Department, Rutgers University. : • ■ A milk r: nation i imu v I tht S :;arns In June 1949 ten dairy barns in the vir.nity ol \ e, Tex., and f( ur near N« a Brunswick, N. J., were sprayed with hr -;o as to g.ve a dated deposit of 25 mg. of lindane per sq . ^urfa< A 25-[ t lindane wetta: mulation and a 20-perc- lindane emulsion concentrate furn.- maSf Corporation were used in these I The v. • ttable used at the rate of 8 pounds and the emulsion at the rate of 5 quarts per 100 gallons of water. The sprays were applied w.th power S] pera* at pressu • f approximately 100 pounds per square inch. Four barns, two each in Texas and N« -ey, were spra the wettable powder, the feed troughs being cov< r Other ban. two in each location, were similarly treated with an emulsion. 'I remaining six barns, in Teza n >ut special • '. is, the walls, ceiling, and staneh "re spra\ .rig the feed troughs. Three of these barns were ".able- powder and three with the emulsion s; k were removed from all the barns befon Composite milk samples for chemical analysis and ' tests were taken from each dairy herd milked in the Check san r ere tal d. [n all sam: l . 3. 7, and days after treatment of tin i Ils1 rid 28th lays after tl ted, Th the B ploying I). iv d< w ( i ) . The • Drug the milk, v> i ■ milk. M ilk ( th( 11 Universlt] ■ oing l -3- Milk samples were taken from the sprayed cows 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days after treatment, and analyzed for lindane content. The milk averaged 1. 6 p. p. m. of lindane on the first day, 0.6 p. p.m. on the second day, and 0. 3 p. p.m. on the third day after treatment. On the fifth and seventh days the lindane fell below 0. 2 p. p.m., which is con- sidered the limit of accuracy of the test method. At Kerrville four cows were thoroughly treated with lindane. One was treated with approximately 2 gallons of a 0. 03-percent lindane spray. At the same time 100 mg. of lindane was added to the feed, the amount that might be injested if feed were to become contaminated when barns are sprayed. On the first day after treatment the milk showed 0. 6 p. p.m. of lindane present. By the third day no lindane could be detected in the milk. A second cow was treated with 0. 05- percent lindane spray. The lindane content of the milk on various days after treatment was as follows: First day 1.0 p. p.m., second day 0.3 p. p. m., third day 0.4 p. p. m., fifth day 0.2 p.p. m., and seventh day none. Since the limit of accuracy of the test method is about 0.2 p. p.m., it is not certain that the milk on the fifth day contained lindane. Two cows were also treated with a 0. 1 -percent lindane spray. This is more than twice the concentration employed for mange control. The average lindane content of the milk after treatment was as follows: First day 2.0 p.p. m., second day 0. 6 p. p. m., third day 0. 4 p. p. m., fifth day 0. 2 p. p. m., seventh day less than 0. 1 p. p. m. Samples of milk from the cows treated at Cornell University were tasted by investigators in the University's Department of Dairy Industry, and those from the cows treated at Kerrville were tasted by specialists in the U. S. Bureau of Dairy Industry. No unpleasant odor or flavor attributable to lindane were detected in the milk. Over 100, 000 dairy cattle in New York State have been treated for mange control during the last 2 years. These treatments proved highly successful from the standpoint of mange control. No harmful effect on animals or on the quality of the milk was apparent. Current Recommendations for Use of Lindane in Dairy Barns and on Dairy Cows On the basis of the data obtained from the investigations reported, the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine and many of the States have recommended lindane for use as a residual spray for fly control in dairy barns and milk rooms. The method of use and precautions suggested by the Bureau were outlined in a special release dated July 12, 1949, entitled "An Additional Residual Insecticide for Fly Control in Dairy Barns." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, after considering the available data, posed no objection to the use of lindane as outlined. '. . t * ■. 1 1 inn linn i 3 1262 09239 5846 i in th' .ill an. milk. H milk is • I t duration, am: none of thi ird d.. mange I on (l s in h . • . Since any milk that might mall amounts of lindane from animals treated for rily a small part r all the milk entering a m. 1, it is app. • milk n negligible alth hazard to the consunv e is also useful for th»- contri I of lice on dairy cc • treatment of cattle for n .vill at the same tim« I these pe- for thf co: a single treatmer a spr. g 0. 03 percent of lindane is recommended. At the pres me lindane is not recommended for controlling of dairy cows. ( 1 of flies and ticks n eated treatments < f several months. Informa- Lacking on the amount of residue that may be found in n en lin sed at the concentrations and frequtnt y necessary for the f such parasites. '.erature Cited (1) Frawley, .T. P. . and I) B. 49, An ultraviolet spi metric method for the quan* Mexachloride in milk. Assoc. Off. Agr. Chem. Jour. 32: 758-762.