1080 (poison)
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Sodium fluoroacetate is an
organofluorine Organofluorine chemistry describes the chemistry of the organofluorines, organic compounds that contain the carbon–fluorine bond. Organofluorine compounds find diverse applications ranging from oil and water repellents to pharmaceuticals, refri ...
chemical compound with the formula FCH2CO2Na. This colourless
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
has a taste similar to that of
sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g ...
and is used as a
rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...
.


History and production

The effectiveness of sodium fluoroacetate as a rodenticide was reported in 1942. The name "1080" refers to the catalogue number of the poison, which became its brand name. The salt is synthesized by treating
sodium chloroacetate Sodium chloroacetate is the organic compound with the formula CH2ClCO2Na. A white, water-soluble solid, it is the sodium salt of chloroacetic acid. Many of its uses are similar to those of the parent acid. It is prepared by treating chloroacetic ...
with
potassium fluoride Potassium fluoride is the chemical compound with the formula KF. After hydrogen fluoride, KF is the primary source of the fluoride ion for applications in manufacturing and in chemistry. It is an alkali halide and occurs naturally as the rare m ...
. Both sodium and
potassium salt In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge. A common example is table salt, with positively ch ...
s are derivatives of
fluoroacetic acid Fluoroacetic acid is a organofluorine compound with formula CH2FCO2H. It is a colorless solid that is noted for its relatively high toxicity. The conjugate base, fluoroacetate occurs naturally in at least 40 plants in Australia, Brazil, and Afric ...
.


Natural occurrence

Fluoroacetate occurs naturally in at least 40 plants in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It is one of only five known organic fluorine-containing natural products.


Fluoroacetate occurrence in ''Gastrolobium'' species

''
Gastrolobium ''Gastrolobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. There are over 100 species in this genus, and all but two are native to the south west region of Western Australia. A significant number of the species accumulate monofluo ...
'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family
Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...
. This genus consists of over 100 species, and all but two are native to the southwest region of
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, where they are known as "poison peas". ''Gastrolobium'' growing in southwestern Australia concentrate fluoroacetate from low-fluoride soils. Brush-tailed possums, bush rats, and western grey kangaroos native to this region are capable of safely eating plants containing fluoroacetate, but livestock and introduced species from elsewhere in Australia are highly susceptible to the poison, as are species introduced from outside Australia, such as the
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
. The fact that many ''Gastrolobium'' species also have high secondary toxicity to non-native carnivores is thought to have limited the ability of cats to establish populations in locations where the plants form a major part of the understorey vegetation. The presence of ''Gastrolobium'' species in Western Australia has often forced farmers to 'scalp' their land, that is, remove the top soil and any poison pea seed which it may contain, and replace it with a new poison pea-free top soil sourced from elsewhere in which to sow crops. Similarly, after bushfires in north-western
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, cattlemen have to move livestock before the poisonous ''
Gastrolobium grandiflorum ''Gastrolobium grandiflorum'', commonly known as wallflower poison, wallflower poison bush or heart-leaf poison bush, is a bushy shrub which is endemic to Australia. It grows to 2 or 3 metres in height and between late summer and early winter ...
'' emerges from the ashes. The related compound occurs naturally as a defensive compound in at least 40 plant species in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It was first identified in ''
Dichapetalum cymosum ''Dichapetalum cymosum'', commonly known as gifblaar from Afrikaans, or occasionally by its English translation, poison leaf, is a small prostrate shrub occurring in northern parts of Southern Africa in the family Dichapetalaceae. It is nota ...
'', commonly known as gifblaar or poison leaf, by Marais in 1944. As early as 1904, colonists in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
used extracts of ''
Chailletia toxicaria ''Dichapetalum cymosum'', commonly known as gifblaar from Afrikaans, or occasionally by its English translation, poison leaf, is a small prostrate shrub occurring in northern parts of Southern Africa in the family Dichapetalaceae. It is nota ...
'', which also contains fluoroacetic acid or its salts, to poison rats. Several native Australian plant genera contain the toxin, including ''
Gastrolobium ''Gastrolobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. There are over 100 species in this genus, and all but two are native to the south west region of Western Australia. A significant number of the species accumulate monofluo ...
'', ''
Gompholobium ''Gompholobium'', commonly known as glory peas or wedge-peas, is a genus of plants in the pea family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. Most species have compound leaves composed of three leaflets and all have ten stamens which are free from e ...
'', ''
Oxylobium ''Oxylobium'', commonly known as shaggy-pea, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae all of which are endemic to Australia. Description Oxylobium range in size from prostrate to tall, upright shrubs, mostly with simple, hairy ste ...
'', ''
Nemcia ''Gastrolobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. There are over 100 species in this genus, and all but two are native to the south west region of Western Australia. A significant number of the species accumulate monofluor ...
'', and ''
Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
''. New Zealand's native Puha contains 1080 in very low concentrations.


Toxicology

Sodium fluoroacetate is toxic to all
obligate aerobic {{wiktionary, obligate As an adjective, obligate means "by necessity" (antonym ''facultative'') and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as: * Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen * Obligate anaerobe, an organism that ...
organisms, and highly toxic to mammals and insects. The oral dose of sodium fluoroacetate sufficient to be lethal in humans is 2–10 mg/kg. The toxicity varies with species. The
New Zealand Food Safety Authority __NOTOC__ New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS), or Haumaru Kai Aotearoa, is the New Zealand government body responsible for food safety, and is the controlling authority for imports and exports of food and food-related products. In April 2012 it was mer ...
established lethal doses for a number of species. Dogs, cats, and pigs appear to be most susceptible to poisoning. The
enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...
fluoroacetate dehalogenase has been discovered in a soil
bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
, which can detoxify fluoroacetate in the surrounding medium.


Mechanism of action

Fluoroacetate is structurally similar to
acetate An acetate is a salt (chemistry), salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. Alkali metal, alkaline, Alkaline earth metal, earthy, Transition metal, metallic, nonmetallic or radical Radical (chemistry), base). "Acetate" als ...
, which has a pivotal role in cellular metabolism. This similarity is the basis of the toxicity of fluoroacetate. Two related mechanisms for its toxicity have been discussed, with both beginning with the conversion of fluoroacetate to 2-fluorocitrate. 2-Fluorocitrate arises by condensation with oxaloacetate with fluoroacetyl
coenzyme A Coenzyme A (CoA, SHCoA, CoASH) is a coenzyme, notable for its role in the synthesis and oxidation of fatty acids, and the oxidation of pyruvate in the citric acid cycle. All genomes sequenced to date encode enzymes that use coenzyme A as a subs ...
, catalyzed by
citrate synthase The enzyme citrate synthase E.C. 2.3.3.1 (previously 4.1.3.7)] exists in nearly all living cells and stands as a pace-making enzyme in the first step of the citric acid cycle (or Krebs cycle). Citrate synthase is localized within eukaryotic cell ...
. Fluorocitric acid, Fluorocitrate binds very tightly to
aconitase Aconitase (aconitate hydratase; ) is an enzyme that catalyses the stereo-specific isomerization of citrate to isocitrate via ''cis''- aconitate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, a non-redox-active process. Image:Citrate wpmp.png, Image:Cis- ...
, thereby halting the
citric acid cycle The citric acid cycle (CAC)—also known as the Krebs cycle or the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of chemical reactions to release stored energy through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins ...
. This inhibition results in an accumulation of citrate in the blood. Citrate and fluorocitrate are allosteric inhibitors of
phosphofructokinase-1 Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1) is one of the most important regulatory enzymes () of glycolysis. It is an allosteric enzyme made of 4 subunits and controlled by many activators and inhibitors. PFK-1 catalyzes the important "committed" step of ...
(PFK-1), a key enzyme in
glycolysis Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose () into pyruvate (). The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH ...
. When PFK-1 is inhibited, cells are no longer able to metabolize carbohydrates, depriving them of energy. Alternatively, fluorocitrate interferes with citrate transport in the mitochondria.


Symptoms

In
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
s, the
symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an disease, illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormali ...
of poisoning normally appear between 30 minutes and three hours after exposure. Initial symptoms typically include nausea,
vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...
, and abdominal pain; sweating, confusion, and agitation follow. In significant poisoning, cardiac abnormalities including
tachycardia Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal (su ...
or
bradycardia Bradycardia (also sinus bradycardia) is a slow resting heart rate, commonly under 60 beats per minute (BPM) as determined by an electrocardiogram. It is considered to be a normal heart rate during sleep, in young and healthy or elderly adults, a ...
,
hypotension Hypotension is low blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, the systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the dias ...
, and
ECG Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the hear ...
changes develop. Neurological effects include muscle twitching and seizures;
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
becomes progressively impaired after a few hours leading to
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
. Death is normally due to
ventricular arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
s, progressive hypotension unresponsive to treatment, and
aspiration pneumonia Aspiration pneumonia is a type of lung infection that is due to a relatively large amount of material from the stomach or mouth entering the lungs. Signs and symptoms often include fever and cough of relatively rapid onset. Complications may inclu ...
. Symptoms in domestic animals vary: dogs tend to show nervous system signs such as convulsions, vocalization, and uncontrollable running, while large herbivores such as cattle and sheep more predominantly show cardiac signs. Sub-lethal doses of sodium fluoroacetate may cause damage to tissues with high energy needs — in particular, the
brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
,
gonad A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sper ...
s,
heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
,
lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...
, and
fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...
. Sub-lethal doses are typically completely metabolised and excreted within four days.


Treatment

Effective
antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...
s are unknown.
Research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
in
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s has shown that the use of
glyceryl monoacetate Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...
can prevent problems if given after ingestion of sodium fluoroacetate, and this therapy has been tested in domestic animals with some positive results. In theory, glyceryl monoacetate supplies acetate ions to allow continuation of cellular respiration which the sodium fluoroacetate had disrupted. Experiments of N. V. Goncharov and co-workers resulted in development of two varieties of potentially successful treatments. One combines a
phenothiazine Phenothiazine, abbreviated PTZ, is an organic compound that has the formula S(C6H4)2NH and is related to the thiazine-class of heterocyclic compounds. Derivatives of phenothiazine are highly bioactive and have widespread use and rich history. T ...
compound and a dioic acid compound. The other includes a phenothiazine compound, a nitroester compound, and
ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
. In clinical cases, use of
muscle relaxant A muscle relaxant is a drug that affects skeletal muscle function and decreases the muscle tone. It may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. The term "muscle relaxant" is used to refer to two major therapeu ...
s,
anti-convulsant Anticonvulsants (also known as antiepileptic drugs or recently as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of b ...
s,
mechanical ventilation Mechanical ventilation, assisted ventilation or intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), is the medical term for using a machine called a ventilator to fully or partially provide artificial ventilation. Mechanical ventilation helps move air ...
, and other supportive measures may all be required. Few animals or people have been treated successfully after significant sodium fluoroacetate ingestions. In one study, sheep gut bacteria were
genetically engineered Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...
to contain the fluoroacetate dehalogenase enzyme that inactivates sodium fluoroacetate. The bacteria were administered to sheep, who then showed reduced signs of toxicity after sodium fluoroacetate ingestion.


Pesticide use

Sodium fluoroacetate is used as a
pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
, especially for
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
ian
pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...
species.
Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
s and graziers use the poison to protect pastures and crops from various herbivorous mammals. In New Zealand and Australia it is also used to control invasive non-native mammals that prey on or compete with native wildlife and vegetation.


Australia

In Australia, sodium fluoroacetate was first used in rabbit control programmes in the early 1950s, where it is regarded as having "a long history of proven effectiveness and safety". It is seen as a critical component of the integrated pest-control programmes for
rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s,
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es, wild dogs, and feral pigs. Since 1994, broad-scale fox control using 1080 meat baits in
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
has significantly improved the population numbers of several native species and led, for the first time, to three species of mammals being taken off the state's endangered species list. In Australia, minor direct mortality of native animal populations from 1080 baits is regarded as acceptable, compared to the predatory and competitive effects of those introduced species being managed using 1080.
Western Shield Western Shield, managed by Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia), Department of Parks and Wildlife, is a nature conservation program safeguarding Western Australia's animals and protecting them from extinction ...
is a project to boost populations of endangered mammals in south-west Australia conducted by the Department of Environment and Conservation of Western Australia. The project entails distributing fluoroacetate-baited meat from the air to kill
predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
s. Wild
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s and
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es will readily eat the baited meat.
Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
s pose a greater difficulty as they are generally not interested in scavenging. However, an Australian
RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...
-commissioned study criticized 1080, calling it an inhumane killer. Some Western Australian herbivores (notably, the local
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the
tammar wallaby The tammar wallaby (''Notamacropus eugenii''), also known as the dama wallaby or darma wallaby, is a small macropod native to South and Western Australia. Though its geographical range has been severely reduced since European colonisation, the ...
, ''Macropus eugenii derbianus'', but not the subspecies ''M. e. eugenii'' of southern Australia and ''M. e. decres'' on
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...
) have, by
natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...
, developed partial
immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
to the effects of fluoroacetate, . so that its use as a poison may reduce collateral damage to some native herbivores specific to that area. In 2011, over 3,750 toxic baits containing 3 ml of 1080 were laid across 520 properties over between the Tasmanian settlements of
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
and
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
as part of an ongoing attempt at the world's biggest invasive animal eradication operation – the eradication of
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
es from the island state. The baits were spread at the rate of one per 10 hectares and were buried, to mitigate the risk to non-target wildlife species like
Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...
s. Native animals are also targeted with 1080. During May 2005 up to 200,000 Bennett's wallabies on
King Island King Island, Kings Island or King's Island may refer to: Australia * King Island (Queensland) * King Island, at Wellington Point, Queensland * King Island (Tasmania) ** King Island Council, the local government area that contains the Tasmanian is ...
were intentionally killed in one of the largest coordinated 1080 poisonings seen in Tasmania. In 2016
PAPP Papp is a Hungary, Hungarian surname. It can refer to: *Daniel S. Papp, President of Kennesaw State University *George Papp, American comic book artist. *Gustáv Papp (1919–1997), Slovak operatic tenor *Josef Papp (c. 1933 – 1989), Hungar ...
(para-amino propiophenone) became available for use, which the RSPCA has endorsed as a more humane alternative to 1080, due in part to its ability to kill faster, as well as having an antidote, which 1080 does not. However, , 1080 was still being used in attempts to reduce feral cat populations.


New Zealand

Worldwide, New Zealand is the largest user of sodium fluoroacetate. This high usage is attributable to the fact that, apart from two species of bat, New Zealand has no native land mammals, and some of those that have been introduced have had devastating effects on vegetation and native species. 1080 is used to control
possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...
,
rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s,
stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...
s,
deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
, and
rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s. The largest users, despite some vehement opposition, are OSPRI New Zealand and the
Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
.


United States

Sodium fluoroacetate is used in the United States to kill
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s. Prior to 1972 when the EPA cancelled all uses, sodium fluoroacetate was used much more widely as a cheap predacide and
rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...
; in 1985, the restricted-use "toxic collar" approval was finalized.


Other countries

1080 is used as a rodenticide in Mexico, Japan, Korea, and Israel. In Israel 0.05% sodium fluoroacetate whole wheat grain baits are used to prevent heavy crop loss to field crops during mass outbreaks of the field rodents Microtus guentheri, Meriones tristrami and Mus musculus populations ()


Environmental impacts


Water

Because 1080 is highly water-soluble, it will be dispersed and diluted in the environment by rain, stream water, and ground water. Sodium fluoroacetate at the concentrations found in the environment after standard baiting operations will break down in natural water containing living organisms, such as aquatic plants or micro-organisms. Water-monitoring surveys, conducted during the 1990s, have confirmed that significant contamination of waterways following aerial application of 1080 bait is possible, but unlikely. Research by
NIWA The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scienc ...
showed that 1080 deliberately placed in small streams for testing was undetectable at the placement site after 8 hours, as it washed downstream. Testing was not done downstream. In New Zealand, surface water is routinely monitored after aerial application of 1080, and water samples are collected immediately after application, when there is the highest possibility of detecting contamination. Of 2442 water samples tested in New Zealand between 1990 and 2010, following aerial 1080 operations: 96.5% had no detectable 1080 at all and, of all the samples, only six were equal to, or above the Ministry of Health level for drinking water, and none of these came from drinking water supplies. Of 592 samples taken from human or stock drinking supplies, only four contained detectable 1080 residues at 0.1ppb (1 sample) and 0.2 ppb (3 samples) – all well below the Ministry of Health level of 2 ppb. In an experiment funded by the Animal Health Board and conducted by NIWA simulating the effects of rainfall on 1080 on a steep soil-covered hillside a few meters from a stream, it was found that 99.9% of the water containing 1080 leached straight into the soil (See 4.3 of) and did not flow over the ground to the stream as had been expected. The experiment also measured contamination of soil water, which was described as the water carried through the soil underground at short horizontal distances (0.5-3m), downhill toward the stream. The experiment did not measure contamination of deeper soil and ground water immediately beneath the site of application.


Soil

The fate of 1080 in the soil has been established by research defining the degradation of naturally occurring fluoroacetate (Oliver, 1977). Sodium fluoroacetate is water-soluble, and residues from uneaten baits leach into the soil where they are degraded to non-toxic metabolites by soil microorganisms, including bacteria (''
Pseudomonas ''Pseudomonas'' is a genus of Gram-negative, Gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae and containing 191 described species. The members of the genus demonstrate a great deal of metabolic diversity and consequently are able ...
'') and the common soil fungus (''
Fusarium solani ''Fusarium solani'' is a species complex of at least 26 closely related filamentous fungi in the division Ascomycota, family Nectriaceae. It is the anamorph of ''Nectria haematococca''. It is a common soil fungus and colonist of plant materials ...
'') (David and Gardiner, 1966; Bong, Cole and Walker, 1979; Walker and Bong, 1981).


Birds

Although it is now infrequent, individual aerial 1080 operations can still sometimes affect local
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
populations if not carried out with sufficient care. In New Zealand, individuals from 19 species of native birds and 13 species of introduced birds have been found dead after aerial 1080 drops. Most of these recorded bird deaths were associated with only four operations in the 1970s that used poor-quality carrot baits with many small fragments. On the other hand, many native New Zealand bird populations have been successfully protected by reducing predator numbers through aerial 1080 operations. Kokako,
blue duck The blue duck or whio (''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus ''Hymenolaimus''. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, but ...
,
New Zealand pigeon New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
,
kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...
,
kaka Kaka may refer to: People Nickname or given name Sports * Carlos Augusto dos Santos da Silva (born 1987), Brazil-born Italy international futsal player * Kaká (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite * Kaká (football ...
,
New Zealand falcon The New Zealand falcon ( mi, kārearea or ''kāiaia''; ''Falco novaeseelandiae'') is New Zealand's only falcon. Other common names for the bird are Bush Hawk and Sparrow Hawk. It is frequently mistaken for the larger and more common swamp harrie ...
,
tomtit The tomtit (''Petroica macrocephala'') is a small passerine bird in the family Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific ...
,
South Island robin The South Island robin (''Petroica australis''), also known in Māori as the Kakaruwai., is a sparrow-sized bird found only in New Zealand, where it has the status of a protected endemic species. The birds are sparsely distributed through the ...
,
North Island robin The North Island robin (''Petroica longipes'') is a species of Australasian robin endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is also known in Māori as the Toutouwai. It and the South Island robin (''P. australis'') of the South Island and S ...
, New Zealand parakeets ( kakariki), and yellowhead have all responded well to pest control programmes using aerial 1080 operations, with increased chick and adult survival, and increases in population size. In contrast, seven of 38 tagged
kea The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wings ...
, the endemic alpine parrot, were killed during an aerial possum control operation in Okarito Forest conducted by DOC and AHB in August 2011. Because of their omnivorous feeding habits and inquisitive behaviour, kea are known to be particularly susceptible to 1080 poison baits, as well as other environmental poisons like the zinc and lead used in the flashings of backcountry huts and farm buildings. Recent research found that proximity to human-occupied sites where kea scrounge human food is inversely related to survival; the odds of survival increased by a factor of 6.9 for remote kea compared to those that lived near scrounging sites. High survival in remote areas is explained by innate neophobia and a short field-life of prefeed baits, which together preclude acceptance of poison baits as familiar food.


Reptiles and amphibians

Reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s and
amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s are susceptible to 1080, although much less sensitive than
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s. Amphibian and reptile species that have been tested in Australia are generally more tolerant to 1080 poison than are most other animals. McIlroy (1992) calculated that even if lizards fed entirely on insects or other animals poisoned with 1080, they could never ingest enough poison to receive a lethal dose. Laboratory trials in New Zealand simulating worst-case scenarios indicate that both ''Leiopelma archeyi'' (
Archey's frog Archey's frog (''Leiopelma archeyi'') is an archaic species of frog endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of only three extant species belonging to the taxonomic family Leiopelmatidae. It is named after Sir Gilbert Archey, the fo ...
) and ''L. hochstetteri'' (
Hochstetter's frog Hochstetter's frog or Hochstetter's New Zealand frog (''Leiopelma hochstetteri'') is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the taxonomic family Leiopelmatidae. They possess some of the most ancient f ...
) can absorb 1080 from contaminated water, substrate, or prey. The chance of this occurring in the wild is ameliorated by a variety of factors, including frog ecology. Captive maintenance and contamination problems rendered parts of this study inconclusive. Further population monitoring is recommended to provide more conclusive evidence than provided by this single study. In New Zealand, the secondary poisoning of feral cats and stoats following 1080 operations is likely to have a positive effect on the recovery of native skink and gecko populations. . Killing rabbits and possums, which compete for food with skinks and geckos, may also have benefits.


Fish

Fish generally have very low sensitivity to 1080. Toxicity tests have been conducted in the US on
bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...
sunfish,
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
, and the freshwater invertebrate ''
Daphnia magna ''Daphnia magna'' is a small planktonic crustacean (adult length 1.5–5.0 mm) that belongs to the subclass Phyllopoda. Description ''D. magna'' is a typical water flea of the genus ''Daphnia''. The females reach up to 5 mm in size, ...
''. Tests at different 1080 concentrations on sunfish (for four days) and ''Daphnia'' (two days) showed that 1080 is "practically non-toxic" (a US EPA classification) to both these species. Rainbow trout were also tested over four days at four concentrations ranging from 39 to 170 mg 1080 per litre. From these results an
LC50 In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for "lethal dose, 50%"), LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) or LCt50 is a toxic unit that measures the lethal dose of a toxin, radiation, or pathogen. The value of LD50 for a substance is the ...
(the concentration of 1080 per litre of water which theoretically kills 50% of the test fish) can be calculated. The LC50 for rainbow trout was calculated to be 54 mg 1080/litre – far in excess of any known concentration of 1080 found in water samples following 1080 aerial operations. Thus 1080 is unlikely to cause mortality in freshwater fish.


Invertebrates

Insects are susceptible to 1080 poisoning. Some field trials in New Zealand have shown that insect numbers can be temporarily reduced within 20 cm of toxic baits, but numbers return to normal levels within six days of the bait being removed. Other trials have found no evidence that insect communities are negatively affected. Another New Zealand study showed that
wētā Wētā (also spelt weta) is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in th ...
, native ants, and
freshwater crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
excrete 1080 within one to two weeks. There is also evidence that 1080 aerial operations in New Zealand can benefit invertebrate species. Both possums and rats are a serious threat to
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
invertebrates in New Zealand, where around 90 per cent of spiders and insects are endemic and have evolved without predatory mammals. In a study on the diet of brushtail possums, 47.5 per cent of possum faeces examined between January 1979 and June 1983 contained invertebrates, mostly insects. One possum can eat up to 60 endangered native land snails (''
Powelliphanta ''Powelliphanta'' is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails, pulmonate gastropoda, gastropods in the family Rhytididae, found only in New Zealand. They are carnivorous, eating invertebrata, invertebrates, mostly native earthworms. Often rest ...
'' spp.) in one night.


See also

*
Fluoroacetamide Fluoroacetamide is an organic compound based on acetamide with one fluorine atom replacing hydrogen on the methyl group. it is a metabolic poison which disrupts the citric acid cycle and was used as a rodenticide.MATSUMURA F, O'BRIEN RD. A COMPAR ...
*
Methyl fluoroacetate Methyl fluoroacetate (MFA) is an extremely toxic methyl ester of fluoroacetic acid. It is a colorless, odorless liquid at room temperature. It is used as a laboratory chemical and as a rodenticide. Because of its extreme toxicity, MFA was studied ...
* Fluoroethyl fluoroacetate * Fluoroaspirin


References


Further reading

*


External links


Sodium fluoroacetate
CDC – NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
A report on the Western Shield project
of the
Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia) The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. It was formed on 1 July 2006 ...
, NatureBase (archived)
Press release demanding the ban of 1080 use in Tasmanian forests (2004)
wilderness.org.au (archived 2011)
Notes on 1080 use for controlling predators in Idaho
(archived)
A review of the documentary Poisoning Paradise: Ecocide New Zealand
(2009) * *, TBfree New Zealand and Hawke's Bay Regional Council
1080:The Facts
– a joint
Federated Farmers Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for all farmers: arable including fruit and vegetables, dairy and meat and their often remote communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Fed ...
and
Forest and Bird Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...
initiative {{Fluoroacetates Aconitase inhibitors Fluorine-containing natural products Fluoroacetates Lyase inhibitors Organic sodium salts Respiratory toxins Rodenticides Toxicology