(Benzothiazol-2-ylthio)methyl thiocyanate (TCMTB) is a chemical compound classified as a benzothiazole.
TCMTB is an oily, flammable, red to brown liquid with a pungent odor that is very slightly soluble in water. It decomposes on heating producing hydrogen cyanide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides. The degradation products are 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (2-MBT) and 2-benzothiazolesulfonic acid.
TCMTB is used as wideband microbicide, paint fungicide, and paint gallicide. The active substance approved in 1980 in the United States.[1] It is used, for example, in leather preservation,[2] for the protection of paper products, in wood preservatives, and against germs in industrial water.
In the US, TCMTB is used as a fungicide for seed dressing in cereals, safflower, cotton and sugar beet.
It is also used when dealing with fungal problems when extracting hydrocarbons via fracking.[3]
TCMTB is not an authorized plant protection product in the European Union.[4] In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, no plant protection products containing this active substance are authorized.[5]
TCMTB contributes to health problems in tannery workers as it is a potential carcinogen, and is a hepatotoxin. It is also a skin sensitizer, and may cause contact dermatitis in those exposed to the poisonous compound. [6] Hence, it is mainly used in developing countries.