NATIONAL PESTICIDE HOTLINE NOW OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK The National Pesticide Telecommunications Network (NPTN), a toll-free EPA and Oregon State University-sponsored information service on a wide variety of pesticide-related subjects, has announced that it is extending its Monday-Friday service to Saturday and Sunday, beginning on June 28, 1997. NPTN has also announced that it can now be contacted through the World Wide Web at: http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/. The address by E-mail is: nptn@ace.orst.edu. The operating hours are 10 hours a day, 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The telephone number is 1-800-858-7378; fax: 1-541-737-0761. Information is available at no cost over the phone and Internet, and non-copyrighted materials can be mailed or faxed for a nominal fee.
NPTN is located at Oregon State University, Corvallis. Open to the public and professionals, NPTN provides objective, science-based information about pesticide products, pesticide poisonings and emergencies, toxicology and environmental chemistry. It is staffed by highly qualified pesticide specialists who have the toxicology and environmental chemistry training necessary to help callers interpret and understand complex toxicology and environmental chemistry information about pesticides. In cases of pesticide emergencies, NPTN can connect callers directly with the Oregon Poison Center or the National Animal Poison Control Center. NPTN can also direct callers for pesticide incident investigations, safety practices, clean-up and disposal and laboratory analysis. Most of the more than 2000 calls per month are from households concerned about their family's health when pesticides are being used in and around the home for control of ants, termites, fleas, garden and lawn pests, etc. The network can provide information on pesticides used in these situations and methods to reduce exposure. While NPTN does not make recommendations about which pesticides to use, it can direct callers to local resources for products available in their area. NPTN uses many sources of information including EPA documents, U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension publications, scientific literature and a pesticide product database.
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