Vikane, is a gas at temperatures above - …

1 Drywood termites and other wood-destroying insects can cause significantdamage as they feed on materials con-taining cellulose found in structures, suchas wood, paper, textiles, furnishings, andworks of art. Because these insects livemost of their life cycle within their foodsource. the exact distribution and extent ofinfestation is often difficult to localized treatments usingphysical methods or conventional insecti-cides may not eradicate all wood-destroy-ing insects infesting a structure. To solvethis problem The Dow Chemical Companydeveloped sulfuryl fluoride, the activeingredient of Vikane.

2 Gas fumigant, to beused exclusively by professional fumiga-tors (DowElanco 1992).'Research conducted during the develop-ment of sulfuryl fluoride demonstrated thatthis fumigant possesses highly desirablecharacteristics for the eradicatron of struc-ture-infesting insects (Derrick et al. 1990).Sulfuryl fluoride is nonflammable, non-cor-rosive. and does not cause undesirableodors. It quickly penetrates structural mate-rials, is effective against a variety of struc-tural pests, and dissipates rapidly duringaeration (Kenaga 1957; Stewart 1957).

3 Since f irst marketed as Vikane in 1961 ,sulfuryl fluoride has been used to fumigatemore than one million buildings, includingmuseums, historical landmarks, such asthe Hearst Castle in California (PestControl 1977) and the Flagler Museum inFlorida (Moon 198'l ), rare book libraries,government archives, scientific and med-ical research laboratories. and food-han-dling is now known as Dow AoroSciences LLCV ikane has been demonstrated to reduceoxygen uptake in insect eggs (Outram'l 970). Vikane also prevents insects f rommetabolizing the stored fats they need tomaintain a sufficient source of energy forsurvival by disrupting the glycolysis cycle(Meikle et al.)

4 1963). This metabolic imbal-ance may delay mortality of insects forseveral days or more following fumigation(Osbrink et al. 1987). For this reason,insects that have received a lethal exoo-sure to Vikane may still be alive immedi-ately following activity of Vikane depends on the con-centration reaching the target pest and theduration of exposure. Therefore, thedosage of Vikane required for a specifictarget pest is calculated in "ounce-hours,"ounces of Vikane multiplied by hours ofexposure. insect eggs require a higherounce-hour dosage of Vikane compared tolater life stages.

5 Control of the egg stage ofsocial insects, such as termites and ants, isnot necessary because newly hatched ter-mites and ants cannot survive without dosages required to control eggsof insects, such as wood-boring beetles,can be obtained by increasrng the expo-sure time, increasing the concentration ofVikane, or a combination of use the Fumiguide- calcula-tion system, which was developed specifi-cally for Vikane, to determine the amountof Vikane requrred for specific pests andfumigation has also been successfully usedsince 1961 to control a wide variety ofhousehold pests, including cockroaches,clothes moths, rodents, bedbugs and car-pet beetles.

6 The eradication of eggs ofcarpet beetles requires very high dosagesof Vikane (Su and Scheffrahn 1990)which are not economically , two fumigations are required toeradicate carpet beetles using second fumigation is conducted afterall beetle larvae have hatched from eggssurvivino the first fluoride, the active ingredient ofVikane, is a gas at temperatures above -67"F. Vikane is packaged in white cylin-ders as a liquid under pressure, sulfuryl fluoride with no other pesti-cides, solvents or additives. Vikane has ahigh vapor pressure; it evaporates 20,000times more readily than mothballs andtherefore disperses rapidly from does not react with commonhousehold furnishings.

7 This is why fumiga-tion with Vikane is an established methodused to eradicate pests infesting delicateand rare biological and historical museumartifacts. Food must be protected fromexposure to Vikane during fumigationbecause no residue tolerances have beenset for any food product (see PREPARA-TION). Vikane does not form toxic surfaceresidues in household rtems, and thusdishes, clothes, and other items do notneed to be washed followino fumioationwith soil around exterior perimeterbuilding foundations is recommended toreduce both loss of fumigant through thesoil and exoosure of olant roots to Vikaneduring fumigation.

8 The solubility of sulfurylfluoride in water is very low, byweight at 77"F (Meikle and Stewart 1962).Vikane is nonflammable and relatively sta-ble; however, it will react to form hydrogenfluoride at extremely high temperaturesexceeding 752'F. This acid can etch met-als, glass, ceramic tile, or china near theheat source. Thus, prior to structural fumi-gation, all open tlames and glowing heat fil-aments are turned off or is odorless at concentrations usedto fumigate structures and is not irritatingas a gas to the eyes or skin.

9 For these rea-sons, a trace amount of the warning agent,chlorooicrin. is introduced in the structureprior to fumigation to warn people and ani-mals that the structure is being acts as a warning by causingirritation of the eyes, tears, discomfort, andhas a noticeable disagreeable pungentodor even at very low concentrations, lessthan 1 paft per million (ppm).Chloropicrin diffuses from structures moreslowly than Vikane. Thus, occupants mayexperience some eye irritation after all ofthe Vikane has aerated from the fumigator should be contacted to takeremedial measures if this occurs.

10 A trainedfumigator will use an approved clearancedevice, such as an Interscanl or Miran2, todetermine that the concentration of Vikanewithin the structure is 5 ppm or less prior toallowing anyone to reoccupy the of Dow AqroSciences LLC\The label for Vikane requires that the follow-ing preparations be completed prior toreleasing the fumigant into the All animals (including fish) and plantsmust be removed from the structure toho {r rminalori2. Mattresses and pillows completelyenveloped in water-proof covers (notincluding waterbeds) must be removedfrom the area to be fumigated if thecovers can not be removed.}