Carbofuran
Furadan·Affects brain, reproductive
A highly toxic carbamate insecticide that inhibits the cholinesterase enzyme essential for nervous-system function. EPA cancelled all food-crop uses in 2009, but legacy contamination persists in groundwater.
Furadan
EPA limit
0.04 mg/L (MCL)
Most at risk
Rural well-water households, agricultural workers, children
Found in
City water · Well water
AquaOx filters
YesActivated coconut shell carbon
What it does to you
Health effects
Carbofuran is one of the most acutely toxic pesticides ever registered for agricultural use. It works by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme the nervous system needs to function, and even moderate exposures cause headaches, nausea, blurred vision, and muscle twitching. High exposures can be fatal.
Chronic low-level exposure through drinking water is linked to reproductive harm, including reduced fertility and developmental effects on the fetus. Animal studies show damage to the testes and adverse pregnancy outcomes at exposures comparable to contaminated well water.
The EPA cancelled all food-crop uses of carbofuran in 2009 after determining that no use scenario produced acceptable dietary risk. Granular formulations were withdrawn earlier because they killed birds that mistook the granules for seed.
Where it comes from
How it gets into your water
Carbofuran was applied for decades to corn, alfalfa, rice, potatoes, and sunflowers across the United States. It is highly water-soluble and binds poorly to soil, so a large fraction of every application leached into shallow groundwater or ran off into streams.
Even though new applications have ended for food crops, the compound persists in groundwater for years and continues to be detected in private wells across the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest. Limited non-food uses remain registered, providing a continuing low-level input in some regions.
Imported produce treated with carbofuran is another exposure route the EPA has flagged.
Legacy corn and rice fields
Pre-2009 applications still leaching
Agricultural runoff
Highly water-soluble, moves readily
Shallow groundwater
Common in Midwest and mid-Atlantic
Find out for yourself
Is it in your water?
Public utilities are required to test for carbofuran and report results in their annual Consumer Confidence Report. Detections in city water are now rare but do occur in agricultural regions.
Private well owners in former carbofuran-use regions should test at least once for carbamate insecticides. Because carbofuran behaves similarly to other carbamates (oxamyl, methomyl) and the related organophosphates, a single pesticide-panel test typically catches all of them.
The fix
How AquaOx filters it
Carbofuran is filtered efficiently by activated carbon. The coconut shell carbon stage in The AquaOx adsorbs carbofuran molecules as water passes through, with independent testing showing reductions above 90%.
For well-water households in agricultural regions, we recommend pairing The AquaOx with our FE Edition or RE Edition if iron or hydrogen sulfide is also present, and adding the under-sink RO for additional drinking-water polish.