Comparative acute oral toxicity of some mineral pesticides to albino rats.

Insecticidal kaolinite, montmorillonite, blea<;hing earth, vermkulite, silica
gel, carbon, various commercial dust formulations, and flouridated silica gel
(Dri-Die 67) were studied for their relative toxkities. to insects and rats.
Bioassay of Dri-Die using TribDlium castaneum adults as test insects showed very
high degree of toxicity as compared to other mineral dusts tested. Acute oral
toxicity experimenrs on albino rats showed suprisingly high toxicity of Dri-Die
to them and the symptoms of acute toxicity were similar to fluorine poisoning.
All other test materials such as activated kaolinite, montmorillonite, Tonsil, vermiculite,
silica gel and carbon did not induce any acute toxicity symptom in
rats even at high level of ingestion but they were highly insecticidal. These
stldies revealed that Dri-Die (silica aerogel impregnared with 4-.7 per cent ammonium
fluorosilicate) was not a safe insecticide from mammalian toxocity point
of view.