Survey of ethylenethiourea (ETU) in ethylenebis(dithiocarbamate) (EBDC) fungicides.

Ethylenethiourea (ETU) has been recognized as a compound with adverse toxicological properties. It may occur in ethylenebis(dithiocarbamate) (EBDC) fungicides as a by-product and/or a degradation product. Restrictions have been issued by the Italian Health Authority to keep the level of ETU in EBDC formulations under 0.5% (on an EBDC technical product basis). A survey was carried out on 85 samples of commercial formulations from the Italian market to verify compliance with the above limitation. ETU was extracted by methanol and determined by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector. Three of the 85 samples (3.5%) exceeded the limit of 0.5% established by the Italian legislation for ETU.