History

The roots of Chlorpyrifos goes back to the late 1930s when a German scientist by the name of IG Farben developed the first organophosphate pesticides which were early predecessors to Chlorpyrifos. Organophosphate pesticides are very like nerve gasses in that they target the central nervous system and they over stimulate the nervous system. IG Farben was developing the compounds for use by the Nazi German government during World War II. The actual compound Chlorpyrifos was not developed until the 1960s. In 1965 the compound was registered by Dow chemicals for use as a pesticide. Chlorpyrifos is a fairly inexpensive and easy to manufacture compound. In 1988 something very good happened to Chlorpyrifos, chlordane was banned by the EPA. Chlordane at the time was a very popular termite killer and when it was banned people turned to Chlorpyrifos to kill their bugs. 1988 was the year Chlorpyrifos started its rise to the top of the pesticide market. Over time it gained a larger and larger share of the market. When it was banned on June 8, 2000 it was the most widely used pesticide in America.