FAQs
Q: Considering the hundreds of years of safe use, why are borates categorized as a reproductive toxin by the European Union. Is there new information?
A: No. In fact, the newest information coming from a test in China supports an earlier test performed in India that showed high levels of boron in drinking water did not cause reproductive or developmental problems. While these effects have been known to exist based on laboratory studies where animals are force-fed high levels of boron, those levels are unattainable during normal use or even misuse.
Q: How does the borate classification in the European Union affect the United States?
A: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the regulatory organization for chemical usage in the United States. In 1993 the EPA published the Re-registration Eligibility Decision (RED) on Boric Acid and its sodium salts and found the following:
"The use of currently registered pesticide products containing boric acid and its sodium salts in accordance with approved labeling will not pose unreasonable risks or adverse effects to humans or the environment."
In 2006, The EPA published the Boric Acid Tolerance Reassessment Eligibility Decision (TRED):
The Agency has reassessed the current exemptions from the requirement for tolerances from boric acid/sodium borate salts. As a result of this assessment, the Agency determined that the active tolerances exemptions should be maintained and are considered reassessed as safe under section 408(q) of the FFDCA.
Taking into consideration the available information on all uses; including the inert ingredient uses, of boric acid, sodium metaborate, and sodium tetraborate, there is a reasonable certainty that no harm to any population subgroup will result from aggregate exposure when considering dietary exposure and all other remaining non-occupational sources of pesticide exposure for which there is reliable information. The Agency has conducted risk assessments to ensure that the boric acid/sodium borate salts meet the safety standards established by FFDCA, as amended by FQPA.
And in 2004 the National Center for Environmental Assessment, A division of EPA’s Office of Research and development raised the level of Boron people can safely consume to 14 milligrams per day.
Q: So if borates are “safe”, why did the EU classify them this way?
A: The EPA uses a hazard assessment of the chemical combined with a risk assessment of the usage to determine safety and set tolerance levels. The EU uses a hazard system only. This is seen as a critical flaw by many of the member countries. In the case of borates, boron is used as a micronutrient for plants, animals and humans. In Europe, borates are approved for use in foods; for example, fine caviar can contain five percent borate as a preservative. But legislation in the UK, for example, says chemicals classified as a class two reproductive toxin cannot be sold as retail pesticides because there is no risk assessment attached to the decision. So you can eat caviar with five percent borate content, but you cannot use a five percent borate bait to kill pests around your home.
Q: What is a developmental or reproductive toxin?
A: When a chemical is introduced into the bodies of rats, mice or even humans and causes problems in the reproductive or development process, it is labeled as a developmental toxin or a reproductive toxin. This is the reason alcohol carries a warning label for expectant mothers. Since alcohol is directly consumed, there is also a high risk. In the case of borates, humans can safely consume 14 milligrams per day. The levels that would need to be consumed by a 180 lb. man to cause reproductive issues would be over 3000 milligrams per day - every day.
This is where risk comes in. Boron cannot be absorbed through the skin. It would have to be consumed. So if you were applying five percent borate bait around the house, you wouldn’t get any exposure – but if you stopped and ate about eight pounds of the granular bait that would get you up to those levels. Of course, remember you have to do it every day. And eight pounds of bait would equal more than 90 cereal bowl-sized servings. Bon Appétit. This is why it is so important to look at hazard and risk together.
Q: What about chemicals building up over time?
A: Boron does not bioaccumulate in humans, mammals, fish, birds or the environment. When chemicals build up in any living organism or in the environment, it is called bioaccumulation. Some chemicals, such as mercury, bioacumulate. If a fish is contaminated, the mercury remains in the fish. If you eat that fish, you get the mercury. Excess boron is generally excreted within a 24-hour period through urine. However, boron does accumulate in insects—that's why it's so effective. Because insects cannot excrete liquid like mammals and other animals (they simply have different organs), the boron can build to toxic levels in their systems, making it an effective pesticide.
Q: So what problems will the EU classification cause?
A: The biggest problem caused by the EU classification is confusion. People should reference the EPA RED and TRED on boric acid. It is a much more thorough and comprehensive evaluation of chemical hazards and risk. It is important to also understand the critical flaw in the European Union system that many people are working to change.
Are borates safe?
A: Borates have an excellent reputation for safety. In trace amounts, they’re essential micronutrients for plants and believed to be nutritionally important for people. In extreme doses, they can make you ill. As perspective, borates are less than half as toxic as table salt. The United States Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) recently recognized the safety of boron by establishing a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for boron of 20 milligrams per day.
Q: How can they be safe and unsafe at the same time?
A: Borates are considered safe because it’s extremely unlikely that people would ever be exposed to the levels necessary to reach toxicity. Like many trace elements, borates are both essential at low concentrations and toxic at high concentrations. While hazard is associated with high doses of borates over a long period of time, there are biological reasons that make it almost impossible for people to be exposed to high enough concentrations of borates in their daily lives to harm their health.
Q: What do animal studies show?
A: Scientists conduct studies to determine both the level at which boron is harmful, and the level at which boron is beneficial to health. Animals forced to ingest high doses of borates over long periods of time have shown adverse developmental and reproductive effects. In studies where boron is completely removed from the diet and environment, the same adverse effects occur. In other words, too much boron is as bad as too little.
Q: What would happen if you accidentally ingested a very high dose of borates?
A: It’s highly unlikely that you would ever be exposed to such quantities through eating foods or using products that contain borates. That being said, an extremely high intake of borates would make most people vomit. We’ve been mining and refining borates for more than 130 years. Evaluation of workers involved in the borate manufacturing process – who receive higher borate exposures than most people – have shown none of the adverse health effects reported in animal studies. In most cases where people have experienced artificially high borate intake, vomiting or excretion in urine has been rapid, and blood and tissue concentrations were shortly back to normal.
Q: How do our bodies absorb borates?
A: When people eat plant-based food, they absorb small amounts of boron. Studies indicate that people in a wide variety of cultures consume about one to three milligrams of boron per day through a combination of foods and beverages. There is almost universal agreement in the scientific community - including the World Health Organization - that boron is nutritionally important to maintain optimal human health.
Q: How do our bodies get rid of boron?
A: Once it is ingested or inhaled, our bodies use what is needed and excrete the rest. Boron does not accumulate in the body.
Q: What does boron do to keep you healthy?
A: While researchers are still determining the exact role that boron plays in maintaining and promoting health, its importance in energy metabolism, bone health and strength, and brain function has been established.
Q: What do government organizations have to say about boron?
A: The standing regulations are more than adequate to protect people, animals and the environment, according to most major risk assessment organizations around the world that have studied boron – including the World Health Organization, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the European Union and the National Academy of Sciences. In fact, most regulatory bodies are focusing their energies on determining how much boron people need each day to stay healthy. The European Union has reclassifyied borates and requires that products containing more than 5 percent borates be labeled as a hazard, similar to wine and beer labeling, in the coming year. As world leaders in information about borate technology, health and safety issues, we are cooperating with EU leaders and making our information and experience available to them.
Q: Does it make sense to regulate the use of borates even more?
A: No, not when you consider the facts about how people are exposed to borates and in what amounts. There are safety regulations for those who are involved in the manufacturing of borates. There are also no good substitutes for many of the products that now rely on borates. Further regulations only hurt the consumer.
