Hygienic classifications of pesticides used in the Russian Federation are p
resented. The classifications cover both technical products and preparative
forms of pesticides. Four classes of hazards are distinguished: extremely
hazardous, hazardous, moderately hazardous, and slightly hazardous. These f
our classes are used for classifying general toxicity (peroral, skin, inhal
ation), cumulative, allergic, teratogenic, embryotoxic, reproductive, mutag
enic, carcinogenic effects, and the stability in soil. The class of the haz
ard is determined on the basis of toxicohygienic evaluation of a pesticide,
taking into account a limiting criterion Of the hazard. (C) 1998 Academic
Press.