The common name for PCNB (Pentachloronitrobenzene) is
Quintozene. Trade or other names for PCNB or products
containing it include Avicol, Botrilex, Brassicol,
Earthcide, Folosan, Kobu, Kobutol, Pentachloronitrobenzene,
Pentagen, Saniclor, Terraclor, Terrazan, Tilcarex, Tri-PCNB,
Triquintam, Tritisan, Tubergran, and Turfcide.
What didn't get reported is that PCNB can be (and is)
legally used on food crops in the United States, including
broccoli, cabbage and peanuts, according to Bob Romang,
president of the Wausau-based Ginseng Board of Wisconsin.
PCNB also is legal--and heavily used--in every other
country that grows ginseng, he says. This includes Canada,
Korea and China.
Lindane--classified as a probable human carcinogen by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other world health
agencies--also is legal for use on several crops, including
corn and pecans.
Given PCNB's widespread use on other U.S. crops, the issue
is not one of health risk, but rather failure to follow
government procedure. The PCNB ban, he says, results from
ginseng growers not having the resources,to provide
sufficient research data to the EPA that would permit PCNB
for ginseng use. While Rick Kegwin, chief of the
registration support branch of the EPA, acknowledges that
chemical registration hurdle's can be steep for what he
calls "low-acreage" crops, like ginseng, he adds that the
ginseng growers just didn't follow protocol. "Ginseng
growers could apply for any chemical registration, including
PCNB, through the EPA's minor-use program." This program is
reserved for crops that do not generate a lot of income,
like ginseng.