Thiram is a pesticide, It is used as a fungicide, ectoparasiticide to prevent fungal diseases in seed and crops. It is also used as an animal repellent to protect fruit trees and ornamentals from damage by rabbits, rodents and deer. Thiram belongs to the ethylene bisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) chemical class. It is available as dust, flowable, wettable powder, water dispersible granules, and water suspension formulations and in mixtures with other fungicides. Thiram has been used in the treatment of human scabies, as a sun screen and as a bactericide applied directly to the skin or incorporated into soap. Thiram is a skin sensitizer. It is moderately toxic by ingestion, but it is highly toxic if inhaled. Acute exposure in humans may cause headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal complaints. In rats and mice, large doses of thiram produced muscle incoordination, hyperactivity followed by inactivity, loss of muscular tone, labored breathing, convulsions and death.

Quinone is extensively used as a chemical intermediate, a polymerization inhibitor, an oxidizing agent, a photographic chemical, a tanning agent, and a chemical reagent. Quinone (p-benzoquinone) was first produced commercially in 1919 and has since been manufactured in several European countries. Its major use is in hydroquinone production, but it is also used as a polymerization inhibitor and as an intermediate in the production of a variety of substances, including rubber accelerators and oxidizing agents. It is used in the dye, textile, chemical, tanning, and cosmetic industries. In chemical synthesis for hydroquinone and other chemicals, quinone is used as an intermediate. It is also used in the manufacturing industries and chemical laboratory associated with protein fibre, photographic film, hydrogen peroxide, and gelatin making. Occupational exposure to quinone may occur in the dye, textile, chemical, tanning, and cosmetic industries. Inhalation exposure to quinone may occur from tobacco smoke. Quinone is a major metabolite of benzene. It has been found to generate H2O2 in cells. It has been suggested that the peroxide reacts with Cu(I) to produce an active species that induces internucleosomal DNA fragmentation.