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An Introduction for Poison Control Centers

Print Version (PDF)

The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) is a service that provides science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics.

  • NPIC operates a hotline from 8:00am to 12:00pm Pacific Time, Monday – Friday.
  • The phone number is 800-858-7378. This hotline is staffed by trained Pesticide Specialists.
  • If a caller calls outside of these hours, NPIC will return their message within one business day.
  • Email us at npic@ace.orst.edu and someone will reply to your email within one business day.
  • Find information about pesticide topics on NPIC's website: npic.orst.edu

Who does NPIC serve?

Most of NPIC's callers are the general public, but NPIC also answers questions from doctors, veterinarians, pest control companies, and pesticide manufacturers.

Foreign Language Capability: NPIC can assist people in over 240 different languages through an over-the-phone language service.

Poison Control Center operators can refer non-emergency pesticide questions to NPIC.

What kind of questions can NPIC answer?

  • Risks to people: short- and long-term health effects, risks for children and pregnant women, non-emergency information for health care providers
  • Risks to pets: short- and long-term health effects
  • Environmental effects: how pesticides move in the environment, effects on wildlife, effects on bees and other pollinators
  • Pesticide regulation: laws and regulation of pesticides, food safety, farmworker safety
  • Documenting incidents: when a caller wants to report something such as a workplace exposure or a bad reaction to a pesticide by a person or animal
  • Proper storage and disposal: how to store, transport, or dispose of a pesticide

What are questions NPIC cannot answer?

  • NPIC specialists are not medically trained and cannot provide medical advice (with the exception of some veterinary medical information).
  • NPIC cannot provide immediate reporting to CDC or other health agencies.
  • NPIC has no regulatory authority and cannot conduct investigations.
  • NPIC does not make pesticide product recommendations.

Do you know what a pesticide is?

You may know them as:

  • herbicides, including Weed & Feed
  • insecticides, including bug repellents
  • pet flea collars and most flea drops
  • fungicides and mold control
  • antimicrobials and disinfectants, including sanitizers used in hospitals
  • rodenticides
  • wood preservatives and more.

NPIC has health information about all of these types of products.

NPIC maintains a database of all pesticide products registered with the EPA.

How do you read a pesticide label?

The label on a pesticide package lists the active ingredient(s), signal word, directions for use, first aid instructions, hazards to humans, pets and wildlife, environmental hazards, and more.

Date Published: February 14, 2020

NPIC fact sheets are designed to answer questions that are commonly asked by the general public about pesticides that are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). This document is intended to be educational in nature and helpful to consumers for making decisions about pesticide use.

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