Toxicological studies with the molluscicide N-tritylmorpholine.

The mammalian and avian toxicities of N-tritylmorpholine (Frescon, WL 8008), a compound active against the snails that are the intermediate hosts of schistosomes, are reported. The acute oral, acute percutaneous, dermal irritation, sensitization and subacute toxicity methods used are described and the results obtained are discussed.The acute oral toxicity of N-tritylmorpholine ranges from 40 mg/kg to over 4000 mg/kg, depending on the formulation tested. The lower toxicity rating is closely related to the toxicity of the solvent rather than to that of the molluscicide. Administered percutaneously to rats, N-tritylmorpholine produced no ill-effects at 1000 mg/kg. N-Tritylmorpholine fed in the diets of rats at 100 ppm for 90 days produced no significant effect.It is concluded that N-tritylmorpholine will not constitute a hazard to people who ingest or apply the material under normal conditions of use.