[latex_glovess]

Hello,

I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable folks here could help me. A few weeks ago I ordered a german roach killing kit from an online retailer that contained the pesticide Orthene, chemical name acephate, an organophosphate. Without knowing it is not approved for use indoors since 2001, I sprayed the baseboards of my apartment. I had diluted it to 1% solution in a 1 gallon sprayer.

Given that acephate is an organophosphate and cholinesterase inhibitor, I am very worried about long term effects and exposure. While trying to find some information I learned that it hydrolyzes easily under basic conditions.

I would like to know the best method to clean up/ decontaminate my apartment. MSDS suggests just soap and water for spills. The chemical is very water soluble so hopefully repeated washings with lots of water followed by absorbing it with towels / litter and disposing of it will remove most of it.

Would it also be a good idea to use a lye solution to further degrade the chemical? I think it also sometimes degrades to a more dangerous pesticide, but not via basic hydrolysis.


Thank you for any input, it has really taken a toll on my mental health trying to figure out what best to do with very little info.