I found some toxic old insecticides

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  • @bersl2
    @bersl2 ปีที่แล้ว +1968

    I love how flies immediately landed on the DDT bottle.

    • @justaguycalledjosh
      @justaguycalledjosh ปีที่แล้ว +346

      The demeton-S-methyl too.
      "This is potentially an extremely toxic substance"
      Fly: Damn, that's gotta be the GOOOOOD shit. Lemme get some of that!

    • @Nmethyltransferase
      @Nmethyltransferase ปีที่แล้ว

      That's the reason it was outlawed, in the first place. The insects developed resistance to it. Then, they acquired a taste for it. Now it's like crystal meth for them!

    • @Armuotas
      @Armuotas ปีที่แล้ว +135

      It's like a person sitting on a shipping container packed with Sarin gas cans. "This is fine!"

    • @Snarkbar
      @Snarkbar ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Serves 'em right!

    • @Flesh_Wizard
      @Flesh_Wizard ปีที่แล้ว +17

      When you just aren't ok😔

  • @Srfingfreak
    @Srfingfreak ปีที่แล้ว +6446

    The fun part is storing a bunch of different open containers in the same box so their vapors can comingle and make exciting new compounds.

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +5209

      the bad chemicals will cancel each other out and be safe

    • @Br1cht
      @Br1cht ปีที่แล้ว +315

      @@ExtractionsAndIre That’s pure Chud energy, Metokur would be proud!
      O7

    • @tehpanda64
      @tehpanda64 ปีที่แล้ว +431

      that's how you create the ultimate pesticide, just like how mixing cleaning products makes the ultimate cleaning agent. /S

    • @Zlorthishen
      @Zlorthishen ปีที่แล้ว +402

      @@ExtractionsAndIre two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left

    • @talideon
      @talideon ปีที่แล้ว +167

      @@ExtractionsAndIre That's just asking to create accidental yellow chemistry!

  • @_binchild3841
    @_binchild3841 ปีที่แล้ว +2356

    The best part is that every time he pulls a new bottle out, it feels like watching a very confused wine connoisseur. "ah, yes, Carbaryl 2017. a personal favourite"

    • @mesiroy1234
      @mesiroy1234 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Nile red is much more reckless

    • @vikramkrishnan6414
      @vikramkrishnan6414 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@mesiroy1234 Nilered would try and mix it with his urine to create a cherry flavor or something

    • @pigmentpeddler5811
      @pigmentpeddler5811 ปีที่แล้ว +70

      @@mesiroy1234 who asked?

    • @rowandoyle7
      @rowandoyle7 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      As a wine chemist that's such a weird mixing of my two trainings😂

    • @suspectsn0thing
      @suspectsn0thing ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@rowandoyle7 As in a wine taster who's also a chemist, or someone who works with the chemistry of wine?

  • @Puffie40
    @Puffie40 ปีที่แล้ว +1267

    My mom told a story of a guy in her hometown that worked on a orchard for decades, and he would get deathly sick when he tried to exercise to lose weight. The doctors figured out there was so much pesticide absorbed into his body fat that it would start to poison him when his liver tried to metabolize the fat.

    • @MarbRedFred
      @MarbRedFred ปีที่แล้ว +74

      I’m not very chemistry savvy nor am I a professor of human biology/chemistry sooooo if you know could you share how this poor guy was treated?
      Or was he told to continue living like my fellow American? Aka stay fat bruh! It’s saving your life!

    • @Puffie40
      @Puffie40 ปีที่แล้ว +215

      @@MarbRedFred I don't know, but he was effectively banned from exercise as it would put his health at risk.
      Liposuction could have been a potential treatment to remove the pesticides, but you would need to take medication to liquefy the fat first before you can suck it out, and that would have make the pesticides go into the body.

    • @tropicalsnow
      @tropicalsnow ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@MarbRedFred liposuction?

    • @technophant
      @technophant ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Emergency liposuction

    • @neolexiousneolexian6079
      @neolexiousneolexian6079 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      So bioaccumulation isn't a problem as long as you never exercise, is what you're saying?

  • @jimurrata6785
    @jimurrata6785 ปีที่แล้ว +297

    I'd love to see you do a video about banned paint pigments.
    Us old folks still remember lead paint (red, brown, ochre, black, white, purple, etc) dioxin purple. Cadmium red, orange, yellow. Chrome green and yellow. Cobalt blue. Antimony black, Vermillion red (Cinnabar). Kings Yellow (arsenic sulfide)
    The list goes on and on.
    The _MOST_ exciting thing I ever found in a dead man's basement was a wooden crate of dynamite. Badly deteriorated and shiny wet with ng that had leached out through the wrapping!

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +128

      Good idea, I like that!
      And wow that’s quite a find….

    • @jimurrata6785
      @jimurrata6785 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      @@ExtractionsAndIre Scared the hell out of me.... 😳

    • @thomasbaker6563
      @thomasbaker6563 ปีที่แล้ว

      Had he died in an accidental explosion?

    • @jimurrata6785
      @jimurrata6785 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@thomasbaker6563 old man passed away.
      His wife wanted "the clutter" cleaned out. 😲

    • @kev2034
      @kev2034 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      A lot of old paints have been preserved for museums and paint makers, turns out sometimes you really need mummy brown to restore an old painting

  • @nedf2357
    @nedf2357 ปีที่แล้ว +1965

    Tom has a unique skill of acquiring old outlawed illegal chemicals from the past.
    With the amount he talks about the 60s I’m convinced he has a Time Machine

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +886

      If I had a time machine I wouldn’t let the bottles get so damn rusty!

    • @alexrogers777
      @alexrogers777 ปีที่แล้ว +78

      @@ExtractionsAndIre if you do find a chemical disposal place see if you can check out what old chemicals they have maybe? Really loved this style of video actually
      Also, is there any chemistry that could be done with these chems before tossing them?

    • @AsymptoteInverse
      @AsymptoteInverse ปีที่แล้ว +49

      If he had a time machine, he'd've been able to make fulminating platinum...

    • @keithcarpenter5254
      @keithcarpenter5254 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@ExtractionsAndIre Couldn't your university chem dept. help with the disposal?, or swaps! Lol.

    • @imazekk752
      @imazekk752 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      @@ExtractionsAndIre We've seen your way of "taking care" of your stuff, don't lie to us like that

  • @moltrescompany
    @moltrescompany ปีที่แล้ว +1068

    This brings back the old conundrum "does expired poison get more or less toxic?"

    • @sashimanu
      @sashimanu ปีที่แล้ว +188

      Less toxic for the intended recipient, more toxic for the collaterals

    • @JJayzX
      @JJayzX ปีที่แล้ว +31

      yes

    • @cfaytinger
      @cfaytinger ปีที่แล้ว +102

      You nailed it. Expired poison is more or less toxic.

    • @frogz
      @frogz ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yes

    • @kleetus92
      @kleetus92 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Thought you were gonna say, does your chewing gum lose its flavor... ?

  • @zuthalsoraniz6764
    @zuthalsoraniz6764 ปีที่แล้ว +1004

    If you want to more easily remember what DDT's full name is, just use this handy limerick:
    A mosquito was heard to complain:
    "A chemist has poisoned my brain!"
    The cause of his sorrow
    was para-dichloro-
    diphenyltrichloroethane

    • @NewChiqueChloe
      @NewChiqueChloe ปีที่แล้ว +112

      I will for sure remember this limerick in 43 years when I next need to know the full name of DDT. Bless

    • @Kenionatus
      @Kenionatus ปีที่แล้ว +38

      Mh yes, very helpful. Almost reminds me of a quarter of the name.

    • @JustinAlexanderBell
      @JustinAlexanderBell ปีที่แล้ว +40

      Yes this just rolls off the tongue

    • @AsymptoteInverse
      @AsymptoteInverse ปีที่แล้ว +21

      @@NewChiqueChloe You should also brush up if you're planning a trip to Nantucket.

    • @lettersnstuff
      @lettersnstuff ปีที่แล้ว +4

      sorrow and chloro don’t rhyme in my accent. do another one

  • @EvelynnEleonore
    @EvelynnEleonore ปีที่แล้ว +19

    whenever one of your old vids gets recommended to me after i finish something i watched on youtube i go back & watch them again. congratulations for the position of being my Emotional Support Australian

  • @eylookvulheimiik7538
    @eylookvulheimiik7538 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    When my dad moved into our old house, he found two 25 pound bags of DDT based pesticide powder. He called the EPA to ask what to do and they didn't believe we had it

    • @bluemobster0023
      @bluemobster0023 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      So what ended up happening?

  • @-Yogo
    @-Yogo ปีที่แล้ว +431

    Gotta love Tom talking about these compounds like a sommelier at a fine dining restaurant "This fine example of a DDT '64 brings a lovely toxicity to the table, it really opens up the myxomatosis on the palate. It pairs wonderfully with the roast rabbit and greens"

    • @kriegh94
      @kriegh94 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      underrated comment lol

    • @Xw3dn3sd4yX
      @Xw3dn3sd4yX ปีที่แล้ว +9

      The use of the word 'vintage' wrapped it up nicely lol

    • @seaoftranquility7228
      @seaoftranquility7228 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      There was even a Bordeaux.

  • @dakkamaster12
    @dakkamaster12 ปีที่แล้ว +760

    If you’re planning to take the stuff to poison control it might make an interesting video if they’d be willing to show the process of how they store/dispose of the material.

    • @calemartin5398
      @calemartin5398 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      I was thinking about this!

    • @sketchyAnalogies
      @sketchyAnalogies ปีที่แล้ว +12

      100% agree!

    • @SeanBZA
      @SeanBZA ปีที่แล้ว +77

      Most of the organics will go through high temperature incineration, but the copper and lead arsenate will instead simply be taken to a hazardous waste landfill instead, as they can survive the incinerator. The others, as they are small volumes, will also easily go into the same hazardous waste landfill.
      Compacted and covered over with ground fill at the end of the day in the active lined cell, left to finally decompose after a few hundred years, next to all the medical waste.

    • @JamesChurchill
      @JamesChurchill ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Yeah, nothing you can do to destroy toxic heavy metals, just got to stick them back in the ground and make sure they stay there.

    • @sommersetcoker5455
      @sommersetcoker5455 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@SeanBZA jeee whizz, thats horrifying...

  • @AsymptoteInverse
    @AsymptoteInverse ปีที่แล้ว +358

    13:04 Story time! I used to work for a company that occasionally distributed an injectable form of demeton-s-methyl (correction: it was oxydemeton-methyl, which I believe is similarly nerve-gas-y.) (Think of a hypodermic needle, but for trees.) The box was absolutely plastered with scary red warning stickers, and when the injectors had been used, there were very, very strict orders to immediately put them back in the original box, put that box in two or three plastic bags, and send the bagged boxes back to the manufacturer for proper disposal.
    Which is about as exciting as the fertilizer world gets.
    Edit: A client of that company occasionally applied pesticides (they did tree and plant maintenance). They were cleaning out their large-scale pesticide shed, and discovered, much to their horror, a 55-gallon (208-liter) drum of some sort of mercury-based pesticide, which caused them endless sorrow. I wish I could remember *which* pesticide.
    Second Edit: My favorite curiosity about modern, safer insecticides is that they're still absolutely horrific, war-crime level nerve gas--to insects. Imidacloprid & co. might as well be Sarin or VX if you're a bug, but as long as you don't use it as suntan lotion, it's relatively harmless to humans. Shame about the bees, though.

    • @johnsmith-sp6yl
      @johnsmith-sp6yl ปีที่แล้ว +32

      no fleas on me thanks to DDT

    • @AsymptoteInverse
      @AsymptoteInverse ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@johnsmith-sp6yl An excellent profile picture!

    • @ericyoung7049
      @ericyoung7049 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Perhaps your colleague's mercury-based compound was a seed treatment, such as methylmercury? See also the 1971 Iraq poison grain disaster, and the 1969 Huckleby mercury poisoning cases in New Mexico.
      I had a prof back in college who had a large sack of DDT in the shed that he half-jokingly referred to as his "backup" in case the bugs got out of control in the greenhouse. Same guy used a handsaw to cut asbestos boards for the greenhouse benches, using little more than a handkerchief for respiratory protection. He died in '21 at the age of 85, quite a character.
      Many years ago, I had a buddy call me up because he found a bottle of heptachlor in the shed of the home he rented! He dutifully took it to a hazardous waste disposal site, in part from my recommendation.

    • @sashimanu
      @sashimanu ปีที่แล้ว +10

      But did someone get a needle stick injury despite all those scary labels and containment measures?

    • @emislive
      @emislive ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Phenylmercury acetate?

  • @RobBoss757
    @RobBoss757 ปีที่แล้ว +150

    The most humorous thing about this episode is that he's telling how damn deadly these things are and how brutally it could mess you up..... Flys just landing on these containers like "whatcha got there bud?!" "This smells familiar!"

    • @Sam-ob4of
      @Sam-ob4of 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      *flIES

    • @vincedibona4687
      @vincedibona4687 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      “They’ll just fucking die later.”

  • @reynairn71
    @reynairn71 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    Fun Fact: Malathion is not just still used on crops, but also people! It's one of the two neurotoxic insecticides used in modern treatment of head lice (at least, it is in Aus). In case you're interested, the other one is Pyrethrin.

    • @alexanderstone9463
      @alexanderstone9463 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      In America we also use Lindane! But just on people to get rid of lice, not on crops.

  • @generalSarbina
    @generalSarbina ปีที่แล้ว +306

    As a toxicologist, I absolutely loved this video. Metal salts are so fun, but organophosphates are just so *chefs kiss*.

    • @vevenaneathna
      @vevenaneathna ปีที่แล้ว

      people say heroin eyes are super tiny, they havent seen organophosphate eyes.... remember, bayer invented sarin gas for u know who in 1930s

    • @Aaron-zu3xn
      @Aaron-zu3xn ปีที่แล้ว +14

      as a pharmacist these chemicals are terrifying and the reason i grow plants that produce atropine and have a well established method for producing atropine sulfate just in case i ever need it

    • @mathiasmajslott9363
      @mathiasmajslott9363 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      As a biologist i just learned how organophosphates and carbamates work. They terrify and intrigue me at the same time.
      You probably know this way more in depth, but here is how i learned it:
      The compound gets into the insect somehow(?) and then it limits the an enzyme (acetylcholinesterase) that breaks down a compound in the nerve network, which disassemble a nerve firing substrate (acetylcholine), resulting in total cramp and then death.

    • @alexdrockhound9497
      @alexdrockhound9497 ปีที่แล้ว

      i can say from experience that copper sulfate hydrate tastes TERRIBLE. It forms naturally as a mineral in some ore bodies.

    • @vevenaneathna
      @vevenaneathna ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@mathiasmajslott9363 or the real ending from into the wild

  • @gresvig2507
    @gresvig2507 ปีที่แล้ว +389

    Neat. Makes me recall visiting a buddy in high school-- his dad was an entomologist prof at NCSU and had one of those old child killing latching refrigerators in the barn. He stored a huge amount of experimental pesticides in it, and the smell hit you before you were even in the room. Also never saw a single bug at the place. And I looked.

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +166

      A lot of these were stored in an old style fridge as well! Must have been the style. The shed was pretty low on spiders come to think of it, and yeah the smell from the fridge was probably why

    • @endlesswanderer1753
      @endlesswanderer1753 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      I guess if you were an entomologist, you either had to really love or really hate insects. Collecting or making fun new ways to eradicate them makes me think his father leaned towards the latter.

    • @wrcNCSU2013
      @wrcNCSU2013 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I prob took his class! I went to ncsu for plant and soil science and we went over all the insecticide modes of action and it was awesome! I’m also a certified arborist and am very skilled at eradicating xylem and pholem feeding bark beetles and leaf scaling insects!

    • @mikepatrona472
      @mikepatrona472 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Such a rewarding job to see a date palm looking like shit hit it with ima jet come back in 90 days and it’s coming back. I felt like a budget DR

    • @redtobertshateshandles
      @redtobertshateshandles ปีที่แล้ว

      I remember some fruit sprays my dad used had weird smells.

  • @aeromedic5824
    @aeromedic5824 ปีที่แล้ว +426

    Before I was married with a kid, I was a Haz-Mat tech and medic.
    Of all the stuff you've used and shown over the years, the organophosphates are the ones that scare me most. I've treated many poisonings from organophosphates (Canadian Prairies, every farm has hundreds of liters of the stuff). They have a nasty habit of getting more toxic through concentration and reaction while stored and are readily absorbed through any route. The most severe I've dealt with have been from people cleaning out old sheds and barns and spilling/inhaling these lovely things.

    • @dmwalker24
      @dmwalker24 ปีที่แล้ว +57

      100% As a biologist, I find the organophosphates to be absolutely terrifying.

    • @cheshirecynic3061
      @cheshirecynic3061 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      So, I grew up spraying malathion and paraquat for my grandpa without any mask or gloves, typically ending up with a headache while doing so. Grandpa ended up with a severe case of Parkinson's before he passed away. I'm 33 now and can't point out any obvious negative effects, but realistically, how concerned should I be for my future?

    • @dmwalker24
      @dmwalker24 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@cheshirecynic3061 Our hazmat tech above may have more complete info than I do. Of course the most serious risks are from acute exposure, but my understanding is that long-term exposure has risks associated with the mutagenic properties of the chemicals. I would think you might want to have some periodic screenings for anything out of the ordinary. There's a good chance it won't cause you any problems, but if it does then the best defense is to identify them as early as possible. Regular checkups, and making sure your physician is aware of your history.

    • @cheshirecynic3061
      @cheshirecynic3061 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@dmwalker24 I appreciate the feedback. I have some minor shakiness already from an OD when I was young and dumb, but it's definitely something that I keep an eye on in case it ever progresses. I really don't want to end up like my grandpa.

    • @thewolfin
      @thewolfin ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Reagan went allout war on Polio (believed to be spread by houseflies, at the time) and DDT sales went through the roof. Funnily enough, organophosphates can cause paralysis... Feedback loop, anyone?

  • @toddburgess5056
    @toddburgess5056 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    DDT weakened the eggs of certain species of birds in the United States such as the Bald eagle. The shell would crack just from the parents trying to keep the nest warm. When DDT was outlawed, the American Bald eagles population bounced back and was able to be removed from the endangered species list which is quite remarkable.

    • @CHRISTIEMALRYLIBRARY
      @CHRISTIEMALRYLIBRARY 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      yeah when i was a kid the show blue peter used to send a camera crew out every time they found peregrine falcons nesting there were so few left, now theyre like rats on top of every tower block one dropped a pigeon liver on me from about 200 ft i dont think it was intentional but still

  • @kolsen6330
    @kolsen6330 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    When clearing out the folks house, I found a gallon of 2.4.5T. If I remember correctly, that stuff is 1/3 of agent orange. The local fire dept on the yearly "bring in your toxic waste for us to get rid of day" told me that if I took it away and never brought it back, they would forget I had it. Ended up burning it in a diesel engine to get rid of it.

  • @smolzillamakes
    @smolzillamakes ปีที่แล้ว +424

    The DDT stuff effected egg shells of birds and made them weak. Lowered their nesting number way down. I think a book called Silent Spring or something like that helped to convince people to move away from a few detrimental chemicals

    • @sycration
      @sycration ปีที่แล้ว +29

      that book also got the environmental movement started

    • @xploration1437
      @xploration1437 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      DDT was great!

    • @DynamicSeq
      @DynamicSeq ปีที่แล้ว +9

      We traded some birds with about 1 million human deaths / year from malaria....

    • @drunkasshole2000
      @drunkasshole2000 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm pretty sure that book was proven to be bullshit eventually. But the damage was already done. Millions died but white liberals got to feel good till the next thing

    • @batt3ryac1d
      @batt3ryac1d ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@DynamicSeq pretty sure the total environmental collapse from birds being out of the food chain would kill a LOT more people than malaria.
      You could ask China and Mao about that.

  • @Alexander_Sannikov
    @Alexander_Sannikov ปีที่แล้ว +121

    for some reason i really like it when Tom is strolling around civilian infrastructure objects such as yards and tractors in his white lab coat with safety glasses and a microphone and is talking chemistry

  • @nibblrrr7124
    @nibblrrr7124 ปีที่แล้ว +173

    00:00 Intro: _A man of special interests_
    00:46 Overview
    01:18 **ORGANOCHLORIDES:** DDT
    05:18 Dieldrin
    06:23 Pentachlorophenol
    07:00 Chlordane
    07:45 **METAL SALTS**
    08:01 Copper sulfate
    08:50 Lead arsenate
    10:59 **ORGANOPHOSPHATES**
    11:27 Malathion
    11:46 _biOLoGy side point:_ Tom = Ant??
    12:42 Parathion
    13:02 Demeton-S-methyl
    13:48 **CARBAMATES:** Carbaryl
    14:09 _we have different chemicals now_
    14:30 **MODERN PESTICIDES**
    14:37 Carbaryl (2016)
    14:46 Pyrethoids: Permethrin, Deltamethrin
    15:26 Neonicotinoids: Imidacloprid
    15:47 _saving the elm tree w/ neonicotinoids_
    17:13 **CONCLUSION**

    • @ranga274
      @ranga274 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Thank you so much omg

  • @iseeyou9162
    @iseeyou9162 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    0:14 THOSE ARE BEAUTIFUL ROSES

  • @ff7omega
    @ff7omega ปีที่แล้ว +16

    As soon as I saw him pull out something he felt the need to add additional containment to I knew it was some real bad stuff.

  • @Whitewingdevil
    @Whitewingdevil ปีที่แล้ว +164

    I can feel how intensely bright it is from here mate, hope this fire season is kind to us all.

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +99

      Has been pretty wet this year, so should be okay… but always makes me think people will get complacent! So always a threat I guess

    • @BubbaButt7
      @BubbaButt7 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      What in tarnation?! You got a whole season of fire?

    • @ElBach1y
      @ElBach1y ปีที่แล้ว +7

      I'm all the way from Argentina and we're also feeling the summer sun. +1 for getting drunk on the warm Christmas night

    • @llab3903
      @llab3903 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@BubbaButt7 California does too

    • @BruceNJeffAreMyFlies
      @BruceNJeffAreMyFlies ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@BubbaButt7 Welcome to Australia. Where the dog in the burning house, claiming 'this is fine', isn't a meme, it's just that part of year the rest of the world calls 'summer' ;)

  • @alexrogers777
    @alexrogers777 ปีที่แล้ว +663

    A literal container of DDT being labeled as "garden dust" is insane lmao

    • @Kirillissimus
      @Kirillissimus ปีที่แล้ว +39

      Just spraying it around your garden however you want will never hurt anything, when in doubt spray it twice. Haven't you seen the TV show where the guys who make and sell the thing get completely covered with the magic white dust and even get it blown straight into their faces while laughing and smiling? The thing is completely safe!

    • @Pyxis10
      @Pyxis10 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@Kirillissimus They even sprayed it around a baby crib and it was fine.

    • @NotProFishing
      @NotProFishing ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Bro they sprayed that shit up and down our road back in the day I have a picture of my great uncle as a kid playing in the mist. Sure he got non Hodgkin's lymphoma but no one got malaria

    • @alexrogers777
      @alexrogers777 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@Kirillissimus this is the heaviest sarcasm I've ever read

    • @derpychicken2131
      @derpychicken2131 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Pyxis10 That's right folks! Skip the step where it contaminates your children through mother's breast milk, and pump that good stuff right into the crib!

  • @mr.bulldops7692
    @mr.bulldops7692 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    "Flies are gonna fucking die later." I love it when you speak Australian.

  • @tuoppi42
    @tuoppi42 ปีที่แล้ว +125

    One friend of mine asked some years ago what would be a good pesticide, as small ants were becoming a problem in the apartment house he lived in. There had been an old lady who had taken care of them, but the old lady had died and the yellow round container she had used to dust the corridor near the entrance (where the bugs came in from) was nowhere to be found.
    I recognized the description of the package, my granny had that stuff too. DDT, Finnish brand name "täystuho", translates to "complete destruction".
    My friend had to settle for lesser chemicals available today to sort out his ant problem.

    • @raymondfrye5017
      @raymondfrye5017 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Instead of pesticides remember that all insects are attracted to food and water. Discipline in not leaving traces and sealing garbage is first defense.

    • @stinkothestooleater4490
      @stinkothestooleater4490 ปีที่แล้ว

      Or just don't leave food out and clean your house.

    • @ownageDan
      @ownageDan ปีที่แล้ว

      diatomaceous earth kills ants easily. no need for poison.

    • @chemistryofquestionablequa6252
      @chemistryofquestionablequa6252 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ​@@stinkothestooleater4490 that's not always enough if you live in a place with high ant populations. You still need sometimes like ant&tick granules.

    • @chemistryofquestionablequa6252
      @chemistryofquestionablequa6252 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@tripplefives1402 hard to do when the colonies are under your house unfortunately.

  • @benn-9827
    @benn-9827 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Interesting fact about Most of the pesticides is that, As my self being a CBRN Specialist and working with different tools and learning about these chemicals, These actually set off our tools for G Nerve agents. Meaning if you Got enough of these pesticides together, You could successfully create a very deadly liquid.

  • @pyromen321
    @pyromen321 ปีที่แล้ว +94

    Send them to ThatChemist for a taste tier list.

    • @benpye6854
      @benpye6854 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lead tastes sweet right? That sounds like a ‘winner’

  • @ElSuperNova23
    @ElSuperNova23 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    Hey, at least you didn't find a old dry/rusted bottle of picric acid! Had the pleasure of finding one during stocktake and having to call the bomb squad.

    • @kaboom4679
      @kaboom4679 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I was " gifted " several large containers of TNP , courtesy of a high school chem teacher , who received orders to get rid of certain " frisky " compounds in the labs .
      His solution was to have a couple volunteers carry several large cardboard boxes of these politically incorrect substances out to the dumpster .
      They never made it into the dumpster , but , did make it to my lab .
      Fortunately the picric acid was quite wet and the scariest things were old bottles of assorted ethers and an rather suspect looking bottle of nitric acid .

    • @ElSuperNova23
      @ElSuperNova23 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      ​@@kaboom4679 Always nice to see 'the funtime powder' or some nice crystals when pulling out ancient ether bottles.

    • @JamesChurchill
      @JamesChurchill ปีที่แล้ว +4

      My school found one of those back in the early nineties, was a big deal with the bomb squad called out and everything. Who then took it to the local tip and waited until a bird flew past before detonating it. Wish I'd gotten a copy of that video!

  • @corvid8290
    @corvid8290 ปีที่แล้ว +62

    This video was so fascinating. Hearing the history of this stuff along with the chemistry was so cool. The way you explained it as well was very well done.

  • @Aranimda
    @Aranimda ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Human: Here I have all kinds of banned insecticides.
    Insects: Interesting, let us look.

    • @vincedibona4687
      @vincedibona4687 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      “They’ll just fucking die later.”

  • @DagorDraug
    @DagorDraug ปีที่แล้ว +10

    yess the copper sulfate one is still used in Italy. My grandpa used it a lot to protect the vineyard, now I prefer other alternatives. We call it "verderame", which roughly translates to "copper green"

  • @sketchyAnalogies
    @sketchyAnalogies ปีที่แล้ว +281

    Can you try to get a tour of the poison neutralization processes? It would be fascinating to learn about those careers and what the centers do!

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +191

      That would be cool! I wonder if I could line something like that up

    • @OZf1re
      @OZf1re ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@ExtractionsAndIreI think the AFP probably has enough of a file on you by now to know that your not going to take anything exotic or experimental home with you 😅

    • @krisgibbon2199
      @krisgibbon2199 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      I work in household hazardous waste disposal, so I can tell you a few things. For stuff like this, we sort it out from the less harmful pesticides. From there, we bulk it into a large tote under a fume hood and ship it off to an incinerator to be destroyed. Since there is pretty much no way to render these chemicals non-toxic incineration is the only viable solution.

    • @Refertech101
      @Refertech101 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@krisgibbon2199 yup they get mixed into a solvent base and sprayed into an ultra high temp flame incinerator to burn them to basic raw materials then particle matter is scrubbed

    • @Wayoutthere
      @Wayoutthere ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Refertech101 ANd where does that 'particle matter' go? Surely it's not all nice and 'Carbony' ready to be dusted on your bloody strawberries?

  • @devilduckietu
    @devilduckietu ปีที่แล้ว +74

    I know this isn't your usual stuff, but this was fascinating. More chemical history, please!

  • @ironfront9573
    @ironfront9573 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I found a bunch of 1970s-80s pesticides dumped in an alley. They were scattered amongst lots of other rubbish but I took the time to pick them all out and take them home as I knew in best case scenario the bottles would either get smashed from lying around, from some eventual clearup or in the back of s rubbish compactor. I remember there was DDT, Malathion and others.

    • @m0rthaus
      @m0rthaus ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Well done dude, honestly. Wish more people were as thoughtful

    • @quiggsy8571
      @quiggsy8571 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah, props to you

  • @samelecta10122
    @samelecta10122 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This video is fascinating. I learned of DDT through one of my chemical engineering classes because a big chemical plant that produced it in California was severely contaminating the coastline around it, and it specifically made eagle eggshells very thin and they were almost wiped out because of it. We had some homework problems on calculating the steady-state flux of DDT particles thru capping sediment, and the concentration of DDT as a function of time and distance deep in the sediment. Good times

  • @97SEMTEX
    @97SEMTEX ปีที่แล้ว +148

    It would be interesting seeing a video on how you go about safely dispossing of these chemicals through the correct means and the chemistry behind the disposal.

    • @internetbodhi1009
      @internetbodhi1009 ปีที่แล้ว

      You chuck 'em in a 55 gal drum and bury it in a cave or ocean... Or incinerate it, ship it to a third world country, or declare it safe to dispose of in landfills.
      Whatever's cheapest is the safest way, according to governments

    • @antonhelsgaun
      @antonhelsgaun ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Drink them

    • @janeblogs324
      @janeblogs324 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The super high temp incinerators supposedly destroy all NOx

    • @davandfir1
      @davandfir1 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Put them back in the box in the shed, they're someone else's problem.

    • @Seedy95739
      @Seedy95739 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@janeblogs324 But then they go in the Atmophere right?

  • @whoever6458
    @whoever6458 ปีที่แล้ว +41

    Back when I worked on an ambulance, part of our training was how to recognize and do the initial treatment for people who had been poisoned with organophosphates. I was never on a call for that but it was something we had to know. This was all before I had taken a single chemistry or biology class and now I have my degree in biology. It's pretty cool stuff, but I also thought chemistry and even physics were pretty cool too.

    • @vindik8or
      @vindik8or ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm guessing treatment is support breathing until the body metabolises the toxin? I can't think of what else could be done.

    • @BigBoolinScienceMan
      @BigBoolinScienceMan ปีที่แล้ว

      In a pinch you can use Datura flower as antidote to cholinterase inhibition as it contains high amounts of atropine.

  • @robertsmith4681
    @robertsmith4681 ปีที่แล้ว +111

    I love the irony of being all kinds of bothered with insects, while literally handling various insecticides ...

    • @moos5221
      @moos5221 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Notice how midway through the video the insects were all gone?

  • @matthewk9563
    @matthewk9563 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    A good friend of mine helped clean out an old garage a few years back that was unknowingly contaminated with old pesticide. He has been horribly ill and wasting away for the past 4 years. Not expected to live mush longer as his seizures are getting more frequent. Just from helping out to clean an old garage

  • @sigilvii
    @sigilvii ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Nice. I have been working in in agriculture research as an entomologist for many years now. Boxes like this (sometimes whole rooms) are very familiar to me, and I can imagine the "weird smell" you described. A bit like chalky candy cigarettes, esters, and some kind of bad chemical smell.
    Some of those are pretty hot pesticides. You touched on a couple important concepts like persistent chemicals, and the ratio of toxicity for insects and toxicity for mammals.
    Insects were also exhibiting resistance to DDT by the time it was banned-farmers needed to use more and more of it.
    I did some toxicology and analytical chemistry with more modern pesticides. Handling "research grade" active ingredients is freaking scary.

  • @Adam-wl8wn
    @Adam-wl8wn ปีที่แล้ว +38

    Mate, you exploring dangerous old chemicals is a great format, would love to see other stuff like this.

  • @jamesgilbert124
    @jamesgilbert124 ปีที่แล้ว +77

    Fun Fact: Copper Sulfate is still allowed for use as an insecticide on certified organic crops in the US. It has a specific carve out in the USDA's National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.
    But also I may need an Ex&F lab coat. You got a merch store going?

    • @chucklebutt4470
      @chucklebutt4470 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It's funny how organic and Non GMO crops need a fuckload of pesticides. And by funny I mean gross.

    • @Suiseisexy
      @Suiseisexy ปีที่แล้ว +12

      It's obfuscated knowledge now because they don't want people emulating the behavior, but certain pesticides were banned in California and subsequently the rest of the US when a group of people making that demand bred and threatened to release invasive insects that threatened important crops. The US actually owes some of it's pesticide policy to an entirely successful act of terrorism.

    • @chucklebutt4470
      @chucklebutt4470 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Suiseisexy Whoa! That was so interesting to look into! The group who released the insects (Mediterranean fruit flies) called themselves The Breeders. There's a wiki page for Entomological Warfare that has a section about them!
      It mentions that an effective way for a bad actor to cause a biological terrorism attack would be through attaching the agent to insects and using their spread.

    • @Suiseisexy
      @Suiseisexy ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@chucklebutt4470 Lmao, great page, I love the bit about us trying to get caterpillars to eat up all the cocaine plants in South America to win the war on drugs, classic US government.

    • @chriswhitmore3835
      @chriswhitmore3835 ปีที่แล้ว

      Likewise in the EU. It more than meets the health criteria to be banned, but organic farming lobbyists keep it from being axed.

  • @Aengus42
    @Aengus42 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    It's amazing what you can find in a great aunt's house. And the "I'll remove these for safe disposal!" gets you brownie points AS WELL as the organic chemistry finds.
    It's a win all 'round! 😆

  • @Sky-._
    @Sky-._ 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This is one of my favorite videos you've posted, the historical ones are just great

  • @BoredBob
    @BoredBob ปีที่แล้ว +9

    When I cleaned out my grandfather's house I came across 5 metal gallon cans of Technical Chlordane concentrate (mix 5 to 1) from when he treated his house for termites and a box of Asbestos cement for use in chimneys. In the medicine cabinet a bottle of Paregoric he had bought years prior from when he had gotten a bad burn on his leg. Fun stuff.

    • @janeblogs324
      @janeblogs324 ปีที่แล้ว

      Cool story. Bro. Got anymore?

    • @BoredBob
      @BoredBob ปีที่แล้ว

      @@janeblogs324 Technical Chlordane concentrate or Asbestos cement or Paregoric? Two of them will kill you and the other is a schedule 1 so I’m not saying on either account. Stories of more f’ed up stuff I’ve run into over the years? I’m 60, spent 22 years in the military, lived in 5 different countries, retired and living in a 160 year old farm house and out buildings on the property I grew up on. So yeah I’ve got plenty. I just don’t share them with trolling internet arse hats begging for attention to give their life meaning. So there’s that…

  • @shawnbaxter1001
    @shawnbaxter1001 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    As a kid we loved when the city fogging machine (pickup with a fogger) came by....was a blast running thru the fog over and over! And running thru the fog wait what!

    • @Refertech101
      @Refertech101 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @David Barr late 90ies I did school maintenance in Canada, the main task at the time was checking all the ballasts of the lights to see if PCB or not, if they where they'd get changed. Instructions should a tube every fall and break was to evacuate the school, yes, the whole Fing school, then after ventilating the room was to look for any droplets of mercury with a special vacuum to suck them up, then a normal cleaning. (Take a guess how often we wasted time with that lol!)

  • @fortunateson6070
    @fortunateson6070 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    My Dad has a canister on one of shelves that says "ACME Arsenate of Lead" and it is very colorful

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Maybe at least put it in a secondary container so it doesn’t leak arsenic and lead all over the place!

    • @fortunateson6070
      @fortunateson6070 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@ExtractionsAndIre I will definitely do that until we get rid of what's inside, the last time I saw it a couple of years ago the container was in very good condition.

    • @richardwebb5317
      @richardwebb5317 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Not to be used against a roadrunner infestation.

  • @FernandoThegreat
    @FernandoThegreat ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I love your love of random chemicals

  • @sunburntsatan6475
    @sunburntsatan6475 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I worked in a toxicology lab, and let me tell you--there are SO many fascinating toxins, as well as just regular elemental toxicities, that I had the opportunity to work with. I worked most commonly with GC-MS organophosphates, carbamates (which don't behave well), and organochlorines. For research purposes, we also worked with microcystins (algal toxins), conotoxins (super toxic!!), As well as botulinum neurotoxin. Fortunately, the BoNT were of the veterinary variety so were safe (with proper handling) for me, but still the toxicity was measured in 10^7 (10 million) mice lethal doses per vial, which was always intensely interesting. I still have sealed glass ampoules that I use to display CuSO4 and Potassium chromate, which have striking appearance!

    • @beguiling_
      @beguiling_ ปีที่แล้ว

      I love reading about things I don't understand. What's a Microcystin? I have no clue. But it's fun to read!

    • @sunburntsatan6475
      @sunburntsatan6475 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@beguiling_ Microcystins are mostly toxins produced by [Microcystis] algae, and they're usually ~5 amino acids fused into a ring structure. One fun fact I learned working with veterinary samples of microcystin-contaminated water: Dogs actually **prefer** microcystin water over clean water, and it can damage their liver pretty severely. Very weird, and if you put your hand in water w/ microcystins in it it'll make your skin itchy and red.

  • @i8764theKevassitant
    @i8764theKevassitant ปีที่แล้ว +8

    My grandpa grew up on a farm in the late 30s thru the 40s until leaving for the army in the 50s and then college where he got his PhD and became a chem professor. He passed this last December and I spent a lot of undeserved time with him and it's why this video was recommended to me. I love the sciences and agriculture and so did he so this video hit a real special spot for me. Wish it'd been made prior to his passing so we could talk about these compounds. At 86 he could still rattle off some crazy stuff that I wish I comprehended more of.

  • @martynbillings4924
    @martynbillings4924 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    It's interesting seeing you talk about copper sulphate. I had a job as a design engineer in Europe and the drive/move away from neonictanoids was causing people to home brew their own pesticides. Mostly from 10% acetic acid, copper sulphates, peppermint oil and white clay. No idea if they work or if they are any better for environment getting people to homebrew and eyeball chemical cocktails at home.

    • @greendryerlint
      @greendryerlint ปีที่แล้ว +3

      They also sell it to pour down sewer lines to kill tree roots to prevent clogging. I have a jar of it.

    • @roleat
      @roleat ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@greendryerlint sounds smart

  • @echo_9835
    @echo_9835 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    This reminds me of my uncle explaining all the bottles of booze in his bar, but somehow less safe.

    • @gingermcgingin4106
      @gingermcgingin4106 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Technically ethanol is a poison, too.

    • @Flesh_Wizard
      @Flesh_Wizard ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@gingermcgingin4106 but it's a fun poison:)

  • @Welgeldiguniekalias
    @Welgeldiguniekalias ปีที่แล้ว +155

    When I was a little boy in the 1980s, if we went on a long drive, the windshield would get covered in bugs and my dad would have to clean it regularly. Nowadays, a bug hitting the windshield is a very rare occurrence. I only clean it once or twice a year, because the rain and the wipers can easily keep up. Terrifying, really, and quite amazing that we still have so many insect eating birds.

    • @johnelwer3633
      @johnelwer3633 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      Likely from improvements in aerodynamics of the vehicles too.

    • @_c_y_p_3
      @_c_y_p_3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Jmoneysmoothboy driving in your videogames don't count.

    • @_c_y_p_3
      @_c_y_p_3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ​@@Jmoneysmoothboy you said there is no decline in insects and I will again say perhaps its a problem with your perspective not indicative of the broader reality outside your gaming console. If this triggers you then be triggered.

    • @redtobertshateshandles
      @redtobertshateshandles ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @John Spencer lol. Sydney has expanded so far west now that we get barely any flies. Screw the bush, it's yucky out there.

    • @VinylUnboxings
      @VinylUnboxings ปีที่แล้ว

      @@johnelwer3633 maybe a tiny bit 😂

  • @aaronrodgers2092
    @aaronrodgers2092 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I used to to see a lot of mesothelioma class action lawsuits on the telly when I was a kid... as a young kid I had a gig doing yard work at a warehouse. Gave me a bunch of roundup to kill all the weeds. I was super duper sick for days afterwords. I was exposed to cable television last week and I saw a new commercial for a class action lawsuit against roundup... the nightmarish memory instantly popped in my head and I had to quickly shove it down deep cause my wife was there with me.

  • @CzarownicaMarta
    @CzarownicaMarta ปีที่แล้ว +29

    I'm a toxin collector and I've been drooling over your finds like a freak (not only the chemical content of the boxes, but also the historical value of these old packaging).
    Malathion smells like garlic and if you manage to eat 20g you will die in terrible agony. the effects of poisoning are impressive, besides difficulty breathing, there is vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, paralysis, convulsions, watery eyes, blurred vision, salivation, sweating, headaches, dizziness, loss of consciousness... yes, malathion is especially fun.
    Oh my, what a nice video.

    • @Brisco_County_Jr
      @Brisco_County_Jr ปีที่แล้ว +9

      So what you're saying is you need to be put on a watch list.

    • @CzarownicaMarta
      @CzarownicaMarta ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@Brisco_County_Jr I probably am on one.

    • @chemistryofquestionablequa6252
      @chemistryofquestionablequa6252 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Women do tend to use poison when they want to dispose of someone, so you're not breaking the stereotype, lol. I'd love to see your collection. I got rid of almost all my toxic chemicals when my son started crawling.

    • @CzarownicaMarta
      @CzarownicaMarta ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 😂
      And I wish I could show my collection to someone interested one day. It's one of my weirder ones, so I rarely brag about it.
      Good thing you didn't risk it and got rid of the danger. I don't have small children at home but I keep my toxins in a armored safe.

    • @chemistryofquestionablequa6252
      @chemistryofquestionablequa6252 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@CzarownicaMarta make a video of it, I'm sure people would like to see it.

  • @alexrogers777
    @alexrogers777 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    1.) I'd love another video just like this, if you do find a chemical disposal place see if you can check out what old chemicals they have maybe?
    2.) is there any chemistry that could be done with these chems before tossing them?

    • @spammerscammer
      @spammerscammer ปีที่แล้ว +4

      "Oh yes sir here's all the old chemicals we have"

  • @Hansengineering
    @Hansengineering ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I _heard_ DDT was *so effective* it is singularly the reason bedbugs passed into legend in 1st world countries before their resurgence in the mid 2010s.

    • @RicoElectrico
      @RicoElectrico ปีที่แล้ว +6

      My grandparents had a bed bug infestation which only subsided after a "nuclear option" of spraying literally every piece of floor, baseboard and upholstery with cypermethrin.

    • @5roundsrapid263
      @5roundsrapid263 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Today, the common treatment for them is to heat the whole house to at least 104F/40C for several hours!

    • @wades623
      @wades623 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@5roundsrapid263 if you live in the right place you could just leave the ac off in the summer

    • @kaboom4679
      @kaboom4679 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Bedbugs are pretty resistant to everything except high temperatures .
      DDT is still approved for treating them ( indoors ) , but , is fairly pointless as most of them are completely immune to it .
      As matter of fact , resistance to DDT was quickly noticed not long after DDT was first introduced .
      The newest pyrethrins work , but , they rapidly gain resistance to those as well .
      If you ever are unfortunate enough to acquire these little bastards as houseguests , burning the house down and building a new one may be the most economical and expedient route to eliminating them IME .
      At least they are not a significant disease vector , excluding mental illness , from being driven completely insane .

    • @JamesChurchill
      @JamesChurchill ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@wades623 explains why we've never had a bedbug problem here in Australia.

  • @alex-mzlzl
    @alex-mzlzl ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Hi, I live in Bordeaux, we was using it for grapes, and yes it's anti-fongic (used against something we call "mildiou", a white surface mushroom)

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Ayyy you live in the place that made the powder! Cool!!

  • @switch2472
    @switch2472 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Bordeaux mixture is widely used today in Vineyards all over the world, for fungus control. It's not super effective and it can burn the grapevines but used correctly it's pretty safe and allows us to use lesser amounts of more toxic/exotic fungicides. (I grow grapes and use it myself!)

    • @Just.A.T-Rex
      @Just.A.T-Rex 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Boracare won’t work?

  • @veramae4098
    @veramae4098 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My county has been having a once a year hazardous disposal day, and every year the line of cars is longer and there's more stuff! People are really embracing this.
    Problem is, the people planning it never thought it would get so big and are tight on cash. It was free, but I think this last year they started charging like $2 a car.
    My farmer neighbor told me that when the economy went bad in 2008, they cut back on their pesticide and herbicide. Ended up cutting it in half, and it still worked fine. They'd been buying and using what the salesperson said they needed. Surprise, surprise.

  • @sholmes3654
    @sholmes3654 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    I know that one of the big topics i was taught on DDT was that they had a massive negative impact on eagles. When you spray DDT that stuff travels up the food chain all the way to eagles, and when eagles tried to lay eggs the eggshells would actually be too thin and break so there were less babies hatching. I think this was a time when eagles were also endangered in the US, but as of now with conservation efforts i think alot of them are least concern! :)

    • @jimurrata6785
      @jimurrata6785 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      All raptors really. Since they eat birds that eat bugs, bioaccumulation works its way up the food chain.
      Thin shells were a big problem for hawks and falcons too back in the 1970's.
      I'm pretty sure that ospreys and bald eagles had big problems with PCB's it the fish they ate back then too.

    • @cheshirecynic3061
      @cheshirecynic3061 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@jimurrata6785 I'm happy to report from Kansas that the ban on DDT has definitely helped the raptor population recover. Hawks are plentiful, and bald eagles are not uncommon. I spent 1998-2013 living a couple miles outside of town, and there was a bald eagle that liked to sit in the big tree that overlooked the pond across the road. The local hawks seemed to largely avoid the eagle, preferring to hunt mostly in my back pasture and around my smaller pond. We also had cranes show up on occasion - they're fun to watch as they wade around in the water, such graceful but awkward-looking birds.

    • @DynamicSeq
      @DynamicSeq ปีที่แล้ว

      Yep... the ban of DDT only kills about a million people a year... Go eagles

    • @cheshirecynic3061
      @cheshirecynic3061 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@DynamicSeq Yeah, no. People die from *too much* DDT, not a lack of it. Get your junk science outta here and go take your meds.

    • @janeblogs324
      @janeblogs324 ปีที่แล้ว

      Trump should've just put eagles on his hats, if that's the only way to get through to people

  • @fluffypink90
    @fluffypink90 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    One of my primary school teachers (in Australia) used to tell us about how part of her father's job was to stand out in fields to serve as a marker for aircraft spraying DDT
    Great video, would enjoy watching more of this style of video if the opportunity presents itself

    • @AsmodeusMictian
      @AsmodeusMictian ปีที่แล้ว +10

      "to serve as a marker for aircraft spraying DDT"
      This combined with the footage of people getting blasted with DDT while eating, swimming, etc. just shorts my brain out. History has so many examples of things that at the time seemed okay, but looking back with a bit more knowledge and it seems horrifically stupid.
      Like mercury to color your wallpaper.
      Like using pewter for silverware.

    • @yunoraphael1413
      @yunoraphael1413 ปีที่แล้ว

      This job really deserves a S tier in a fear rank

    • @mamupelu565
      @mamupelu565 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@AsmodeusMictian thats why I didnt take the vaccine

  • @zabortnick
    @zabortnick ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Just a few years ago I was helping clean a garage and found a can of DDT insecticide, it was a liquid and the can was made to screw onto the muffler of yer lawnmower so you could fog the bugs with it while I cut the grass. 🤢

  • @peterbriggs3408
    @peterbriggs3408 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I clearly remember my grandfather in the 1970s mixing white lead and red lead into a paste and then using that to coat his runner bean seeds before planting. The thought of doing something like this today is beyond belief

    • @tungsten2009
      @tungsten2009 ปีที่แล้ว

      Did you eat the runner beans?

    • @peterbriggs3408
      @peterbriggs3408 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@tungsten2009 yes. That could explain a few things 😂

    • @tungsten2009
      @tungsten2009 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@peterbriggs3408 What's the difference between white and red lead paste, besides resulting in a pink mixture.

    • @peterbriggs3408
      @peterbriggs3408 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@tungsten2009 Don't know really. I think one is lead oxide and the other lead carbonate, but why he used both I don't know. This was about 45 years ago.

    • @tungsten2009
      @tungsten2009 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@peterbriggs3408 Twice the poison?

  • @yannickramouillet3742
    @yannickramouillet3742 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Fun fact, Malathion was widely used in anti-lice shampoos here in France until like 3 years ago. I remember putting it on my head quite often as a kid for lices after public pool, school lice infestation. I was aware of its toxicity quite recently though but you don't have much effective anti-lice products now apart from bad anti-foaming agents like dimethicone which (without much efficacy) apparently clog the respiration pore of the louse

    • @planefan082
      @planefan082 ปีที่แล้ว

      Tea-tree extract.

    • @sungazer454
      @sungazer454 27 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Mayonnaise.

  • @Dysiode
    @Dysiode ปีที่แล้ว +16

    one of my favorite poems is "Shifting Baseline Syndrome" by Aaron Kreuter
    an excerpt: "There were never any birds here. The bats were always dying. The wilderness was always accessible for the day rate of twelve fifty a car, and the highly reasonable seasonal rate of a hundred and fifteen. ... Our baselines haven't shifted--you have. ... There was always a view from the airplane window. Always."

  • @TheXeno05
    @TheXeno05 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    Those giddy, yet uneasy, laughs after talking about the chemicals are great. He's so into it and loves talking about this stuff but...heheh it'll kill ya dead.

  • @jr637-1
    @jr637-1 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    You brought up an excellent point that most plants don’t take up lead from contaminated soil. The most common exposure pathway from lead is actually inhalation from soil particles whipped up by digging and the wind.

  • @odoman69
    @odoman69 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    As someone who formulates modern insecticides and herbicides this video is such a time capsule, thanks for sharing

    • @taylorhay
      @taylorhay ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks for the work you do!

  • @mineown1861
    @mineown1861 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I like the clip where that nun is re-inflating that child with DDT , and the hexa-chloro cyclo hexane takes me back to doing reaction schemes in school .
    Ironic that you were being buzzed by flies when you took out the DDT .

  • @nnehila
    @nnehila ปีที่แล้ว +71

    Can you ask the poison control to do a video with them on destruction of the chemicals??

    • @robogecko4067
      @robogecko4067 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @Karl with a K Jesus, you’d think they’d do it for free to stop stuff like that

    • @Flesh_Wizard
      @Flesh_Wizard ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hell yeah E&I poison centre collab

    • @Refertech101
      @Refertech101 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@robogecko4067 sadly they grape you hard, I don't complain just means I get Mercury free, at least when given to me it is stored carefully and securely! but so much hazardous and toxic chems get dumped int he environment due to the cost of disposal to home users and such.

    • @dragonhealer7588
      @dragonhealer7588 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Refertech101
      Twice a year where I live, we can take everything horrible to the local fire Department for disposal no charge.

    • @SpaceMulva
      @SpaceMulva ปีที่แล้ว

      @@dragonhealer7588 You don't need to ask permission to drop stuff off at the fire department or poison control, you just fucking do it, and leave. Don't have visible tags on your shit. Leave a note that says chemicals for safe disposal. Guess what they do, fucking dispose of them.

  • @Patchnote2.0
    @Patchnote2.0 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    This video feels like a less chaotic and more informative version of StyroPyro's series with that old chemistry book. Great video, I loved it!

  • @hammerth1421
    @hammerth1421 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    I recently handed in a can of wood paint with Lindane in it to the public hazardous waste collection. It's kinda scary what nasty chemicals still sit in the sheds and shelves of usually elderly people.

    • @deathlis
      @deathlis ปีที่แล้ว +7

      And of course many of those sheds ultimately succumb to a fire, a hurricane/windstorm, a tornado or something similar.

    • @cvspvr
      @cvspvr ปีที่แล้ว +7

      elderly people themselves often emit dangerous levels of radiation

    • @sierra5720
      @sierra5720 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Where I live it's not uncommon to come across cy mag or strychnine.

  • @thewolfofthestars1847
    @thewolfofthestars1847 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Fun fact: Carbaryl was the insecticide being manufactured in Bhopal when the factory suffered a catastrophic disaster in 1984, resulting in the release of a load of toxic gases into the atmosphere and the subsequent poisoning of hundreds of thousands of people in the surrounding city!

  • @tmdcbass
    @tmdcbass ปีที่แล้ว +8

    *Pulls out tube of DDT, an infamous insectide*
    FLY IMMEDIATELY LANDS ON TUBE OF DDT

  • @simonscott1121
    @simonscott1121 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    30 years ago, we had a massive ant nest appear above our septic tank. My dad found an old can of Dieldrin in the shed, told me all about it, and then spread a little on the nest.
    That shit is like a nuclear bomb for insects. Didnt see another ant around there ever again.

    • @simonscott1121
      @simonscott1121 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      My dad pronounced it "deel-drin"

    • @ExtractionsAndIre
      @ExtractionsAndIre  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Lol yeah I can imagine! Terrifying really

  • @YakiAttaki
    @YakiAttaki ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I'm eight minutes into this video and I've just realised: I think this is the most "formal" I've seen you. Clean labcoat, safety glasses, gloves. Lookin good

    • @cerebralm
      @cerebralm ปีที่แล้ว +3

      You haven't gotten to the lead arsenate yet, that's when it makes sense. :P

  • @LilGugz
    @LilGugz ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Great video! Having worked in trace pesticide analysis (OC/OP/Soil/etc) for the last 10 years in WA, I found this video accurate and very well prepared.
    Lindane, malathion I have never found in actual soil analysis at trace levels (

  • @williamletts9487
    @williamletts9487 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    We were cleaning out the old garage when we were remodeling a house from the 50s and we found a very large sealed bottle of ddt (and some of the other more dangerous options) in a storage cabinet in the back, and I think they just got relocated because we didn't know how to dispose of them at the time

  • @amberblyledge7859
    @amberblyledge7859 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My fiancé got shot in the face with a raid fogger.
    He was out of that area in seconds and the fogger semi contained, but he still had nervous system issues for about a week or so. And that was after thorough decontamination and very minor exposure.

  • @Just.A.T-Rex
    @Just.A.T-Rex ปีที่แล้ว +57

    Deltamethrin is still in use, same as bifenthrin and imidacloprid. The latter 2 work great for termites as well. We use thousands of gallons (diluted solution mixed per the label) a year to treat pre construction foundation elements for homes as well as active termite infestations or just as a preventative.

    • @helplmchoking
      @helplmchoking ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Yeah lots of "-ethrin" chemicals are very widely used. Including the tetramethrin acting as the main ingredient in the fly spray right next to me lol

    • @realblakrawb
      @realblakrawb ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@helplmchoking permethrin and amethrin in thermal cells and mosquito coils too

    • @profpuffofficial2
      @profpuffofficial2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      We use a lot of pyrethroids

    • @firstmkb
      @firstmkb ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Are they as effective as Chlordane? That was awesome for termites (not so much for kids), and lasted 20 years in the ground.

    • @Just.A.T-Rex
      @Just.A.T-Rex 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      ⁠@@firstmkblol no. But at the benefit off no voc and much less toxicity and stays where you put it if applied properly compared to chlordane

  • @KooshiesElectronics
    @KooshiesElectronics ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Glad to see some more content! Hope all is well.

  • @bigmango202
    @bigmango202 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    My grandad worked as a chemist for a company making scents and good smells but your kinda chemistry definitely makes me want to be one

  • @toter-drache
    @toter-drache ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I was going through the contents on a shelf in my parents basement, i found a box of DDT powder, 4 bottles of Malathion and various other "insecticides", that were, at one time, readily available at Hardware Stores. Funny thing was the DDT Box was labeled "ACME Chemical Division", Reminded me of the Coyote/Roadrunner cartoon.

  • @BigglyG
    @BigglyG ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Gotta love the irony of the flies landing on the insecticide bottles as you talk about how deadly they are.

  • @tek4
    @tek4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Just when I needed it most after a hell of a day, you come up and post. Fantastic. Amazing. Wonderful.

  • @alexrogers777
    @alexrogers777 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Oh hell yeah, a change from the cubane series
    (I like the cubane series, love your videos in general, I just missed your videos about other chemicals)

  • @Pablo668
    @Pablo668 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    There used to be a powder for case hardening steels. It was called Hardite. It contains some nasty stuff, including Cyanide of some type. they still used it when I was in high school, though it has been banned from schools now afaik. I have never seen it outside of a school though. In an unlikely twist of fate I became a Design and Technology teacher and back in the early 00's I found a full tin of that stuff in a storeroom at the school I was working at. I was a tad surprised tbh.

    • @Jefferson-ly5qe
      @Jefferson-ly5qe ปีที่แล้ว +3

      In those days there was still a load of that kind of stuff tucked away in schools. Mercury, phosphorus, alkali metals etc. Less so now

    • @andrew051968
      @andrew051968 ปีที่แล้ว

      When I did my apprenticeship in the 1980’s we used cyanide based case hardening chemicals too. Today in industry they get the carbon into the steel using heat and high pressure high carbon gasses.

  • @nickdivona8769
    @nickdivona8769 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Love hearing about the Lead/Arsenic stuff, that is what has totally destroyed the area I live (shoutouts to Asarco for making everything toxic!).

  • @sigilvii
    @sigilvii ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The history you give on the transition from organochlorides to organophosphates is more complex than outlined at 11:00
    Farmers had become quite reliant on chemicals by the time DDT was banned (and in turn, chemical companies had been reliant on farmers purchasing their chemicals). Organophosphate insecticides were available, but not as popular as DDT. When DDT was banned, there was a huge gap in the market, and organophosphates were quickly adopted.
    Fun fact: they were originally used as chemical weapons. This group includes sarin, tabun, and VX. (EDIT oh you talk about this)
    Another fun fact: your acetylcholinesterase gets *permanently* bound up by these chemicals and even small doses (or chronic low exposure) will be detectable in blood tests (assuming you have had a baseline AChE test). Carbamates do this too, but it's reversible (lower binding affinity to the AChE) so if you can get treatment you can ride it out in an iron lung and recover, theoretically.
    EDIT pesticides are all about action sites and modes of action. Modern insecticides are designed to be more selective to insects (or even better: specific insects). Nerve agents are broadly toxic because all animals have nerves. Bacillus thuringiensis is more specific to insects because the receptors in their gut lining aren't found in humans.
    EDIT EDIT I think most organophosphates become more toxic in storage. Malathion is converted to malaoxon in the body and that is the active secondary form. It slowly converts in storage. I think other organophosphates work this way too. I took a class from a chemistry professor who studied the conversion of malathion to malaoxon while in storage.

  • @nigeljohnson9820
    @nigeljohnson9820 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    During the 1960s and 70s, garden centres reeked of the smell of lindane (gamma benzene hexachloride), it was the dominant overpowering smell, only mitigated by the earthy smell of peat.
    School chem labs often had a similar smell, as its synthesis was a standard part of the chemistry syllabus. An example of a reaction promoted by the exposure to strong UV light, I am sure a topic close to your heart, given your recent experience with UV LEDs.

  • @VoIcanoman
    @VoIcanoman ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I know malathion has been used recently in Canada as an insecticide, mainly in agriculture (where its use continues to this day), but also in urban and suburban environments to kill mosquitoes. It was last used in my own city of Winnipeg back in 2016 or maybe 2017. As you said, the pyrethroid class has become the replacement of choice, particularly deltamethrin.

  • @ebnertra0004
    @ebnertra0004 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I recall finding a glass bottle of malathion along with a container of methoxychlor in the garage as a kid. They looked like 70s or early 80s-era containers. Definitely washed my hands thoroughly after that

    • @gandalf8216
      @gandalf8216 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm always scared of cleaning out garages, because you often have to call authorities and it's a big hassle when they call in bomb experts and chemists that demands the whole block roped off.

  • @jamesnicholson3658
    @jamesnicholson3658 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I used to work on a farm where we used old creosote from the late 90s to paint fence posts, it got banned in 2003 for being hazardous to human health and the environment, loved your video btw

    • @paulaus
      @paulaus ปีที่แล้ว

      They used to treat the wooden power pole out the front of my parents house with Creosote every couple of years.

  • @freehat2722
    @freehat2722 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    That fly landing on the DDT was perfect, Killer bees seem to be doing okay. Awesome video, I learned a lot. Thank you.

  • @DullPoints
    @DullPoints ปีที่แล้ว +22

    Sorry to hear about your late relative. Brilliant video as always! A regular non-chem philistine like me appreciates this info.
    And the chemistry-biology connection is VERY interesting! It's incredible how much mankind knows about all these systems.