Colloid facilitated transport of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) to the groundwater at Ma Da Area, Vietnam

PCDD/Fs are hydrophobic organic substances and strongly sorbing to soil particles. Once adsorbed to soil particles they are believed to be virtually immobile. However, research in the last decades confirmed that strong sorbing contaminants may reach the groundwater via colloid-facilitated transport. This pathway has not been investigated before in Vietnam. Ma Da area, 100 km north of Ho Chi Minh City, was repeatedly sprayed during the Vietnam War (1962–1971) with herbicides like Agent Orange containing, beside others, the teratogenic contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). 11 surface soil samples and 12 water samples were collected in Ma Da area for analysis of PCDD/Fs in solids. Soil TCDD concentrations ranged from 1–41 ppt with a mean of 8.8 ppt and a mean I-TEQ of 9.7 ppt. Two surface water samples showed colloid bound TCDD (7 and 19 ppt). Groundwater samples showed elevated colloid bound PCDD concentrations (mean 770 ng/kg), mainly octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Groundwater colloids separated by filtration did not show any TCDD. The results support that TCDD/Fs can be relocated from the top soil to the groundwater by colloidal pathway. They did not provide evidence that the dioxins bound to groundwater colloids are leftovers from the Second Indochinese War. However, this study reinforces that the colloidal transport pathway has to be included investigating the relocation of strong sorbing organic contaminants.     

Preparation and investigation of poly(methylmethacrylate) nano-capsules containing haloxyfop-R-methyl and their release behavior

Abstract

In this study, the preparation and characterization of haloxyfop-R-methyl herbicide loaded in poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) nano-capsules by emulsion polymerization and its release behavior were investigated. The chemical characterizations of PMMA/haloxyfop-R-methyl nano-capsules were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy method, and the surface morphology was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Also, the herbicide loading and encapsulation efficiency were analyzed for the herbicide-loaded nano-capsules. The release rate of PMMA/haloxyfop-R-methyl nano-capsules was determined by UV-visible spectroscopy. The thermal properties and thermal stability of nano-capsules were explored by the thermal gravimetric analysis method. The diameter of the nano-capsules was in the range of 100–300?nm. Increasing the amount of herbicide in nano-formulations significantly affected the surface of the nano-capsules and reduced their surface smoothness. Triton-X100 was identified as the best surfactant for the preparation of nano-capsules, and the sample containing the lowest herbicide content showed the best performance in terms of encapsulation and loading efficiency. This sample showed a steady-state release rate during the six days.     

氯乙酰胺类除草剂微生物降解研究进展

主要介绍了几种氯乙酰胺类除草剂的微生物降解机制和相关降解酶．目前没有一种纯菌培养物或混合菌群能完全矿化异丙甲草胺和甲草胺，它们只能被细菌和真菌共代谢．毒草胺能被纯菌或混合菌群完全矿化，且有几种不同的矿化途径．乙草胺是我国生产量和使用量最多的三大除草剂之一，然而关于其微生物降解方面的研究在国内外报道的非常少，因此关于乙草胺被微生物降解和矿化的研究工作还有待于进一步加强．参45     

Adsorption of chloroacetanilide herbicides on soil (I). Structural influence of chloroacetanilide herbicide for their adsorption on soils and its components

Adsorption of chloroacetanilide herbicide acetochlor,alachlor, metolachlor and propachlor on soils and soil components was determined, and the structural differences of these herbicides were used to explain the order of sorptivity. Adsorption isotherms for all herbicide-soil combinations conformed to the Freundlich equation, and Kf increased with increasing soil organic carbon content. Kd on soil humic acid was greater than that on clay, but association of humic acid with clay reduced the overall adsorption. On all soils and soil humic acids, herbicide adsorption decreased in the order: metolachlor > acetochlor > propachlor > alachlor. On Ca²⁺-montmorrilonite, the order changed to metolachlor > acetochlor > alachlor > propachlor. FT-IR spectra of herbicide-clay or herbicide-humic acid-clay mixtures showed that H-bonding and charge transfer were the primary interaction pathways between these compounds and the surface of clay or humic acids. The different moieties attached to 2-chloro-acetanilide and their unique arrangement may have influenced the binding mechanisms and thus the sorptivity of these herbicides. This study indicates that the structural difference of pesticides in the same classes may be used as a molecular probe to obtain a better understanding of sorption mechanisms of pesticides on soil.     

EFFICACY AND COST OF AQUATIC WEED CONTROL IN SMALL PONDS'

ABSTRACT: Twenty, 0.2 hectare ponds were utilized for a four-year evaluation of three aquatic vegetation control techniques: a combination of inorganic fertilization and mechanical harvesting, aquatic herbicides, and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Ponds used for herbicide and grass carp treatments were managed at three levels of aquatic vegetation (none, 40 and 70 percent plant occupation). Submersed vegetation was not controlled with inorganic fertilization. Vegetation levels were maintained for less than 30 days after mechanicai harvesting. Submersed macrophytes were not completely eliminated with herbicides, but the herbicide treatments utilized were effective at maintaining aquatic vegetation above 30 percent pond volume occupation. Grass carp consumed all species of submersed vegetation at the stocking densities used in this study; therefore, planned levels of submersed macrophytes were not maintained. Grass carp did not consume all floating leaf vegetation, but after four years some grass carp ponds did have lower densities of floating leaf plants. Fertilization costs were $608/hectare/year, and mechanical harvesting costs were $1979/hectare/year, resulting in a total aquatic vegetation treatment cost of $2587/hectare/ year. Herbicide costs for the different treatment levels ranged from $417/hectare/year to $1339/hectare/year over the four-year period. Grass carp were the most economical vegetation control measure tested, with costs ranging from $159/hectare/year to $248/hectare/year for the four-year study.     

甲醇衍生法测定环境水体中八种酸性除草剂

文章建立了一种测定环境水体中8种酸性除草剂残留量的分析方法。1 000 mL样品在pH<2的情况下由乙醚分三次萃取后,萃取液经脱水,K-D浓缩至约1 mL,转移到衍生瓶中。在衍生瓶中补加2 mL正己烷、1 mL甲醇、8滴浓硫酸,80℃水浴加热1 h,进行甲醇衍生化处理,衍生后的样品运用气相色谱-质谱联用-分段选择离子扫描技术测定,内标法定量。结果表明:8种除草剂在0.05～2.5μg/L范围内线性均良好;方法灵敏度高,检出限均低于或等于0.02μg/L;方法的准确度和精密度高,在0.10、0.50、1.00、1.50μg/L添加水平下所有除草剂的回收率均在82.07%～116.99%之间,相对标准偏差RSD≤7.68%;经实际样品检测,可用于测定环境水体中酸性类除草剂的残留量。     

部分除草剂与重金属混合物对发光菌的毒性

以5种不同类型除草剂和4种重金属为混合物组分,探索混合物毒性变化规律.应用微板毒性分析方法,测定了百草敌、磺草灵、西草净、除草定、环嗪酮、CdCl2·2.5H2O、Ni(NO3)2·6H2O、CoSO4·7H2O和ZnSO4·7H2O对淡水发光菌—青海弧菌Q67(Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.—Q67)的发光抑制毒性.应用非线性最小二乘拟合技术模拟实验剂量-效应数据.结果表明,5种除草剂与4种重金属化合物的剂量-效应曲线(DRC)均可用Weibull函数有效表征.为了全面考察各种不同浓度组成的混合物对Q67的毒性,设计了9个组分同时存在的3个等效应浓度比(EECR)混合物和10个均匀设计浓度比(UDCR)混合物.同样应用微板毒性分析方法测定了各个混合物对Q67的抑制毒性,并应用非线性最小二乘拟合技术模拟了其剂量-效应曲线.通过剂量加和(DA)与独立作用(IA)模型综合分析了各个混合物对发光菌的毒性变化规律.结果表明,不同类型除草剂与多种重金属的各种浓度组合的混合物毒性均可用DA模型进行预测和评估.     

Nonformal environmental education: a case study with farmers in a town of the South Minas Gerais state,Brazil

Brazil is a central place in the international agricultural markets and this fact has been demanding environmentally oriented agricultural practices by Brazilian farmers and professionals involved in the agricultural market chain. A concise and structured questionnaire was applied to obtain the environmental perception of a group of Brazilian farmers in a town of the south Minas Gerais state, using herbicides as the topic for a case study. A highly variable opinion about taking the environment into account when choosing the most appropriate herbicide was found. Anyway, efficacy has been indicated as the most important factor when choosing an herbicide, followed by the environment and price. The outcomes from the questionnaires, i.e. the insufficient conception and importance given to environment when choosing the herbicide, motivated the creation of a teaching-learning model for the nonformal environmental education using the concept of socio-ecological resilience. This routine puts in practice the resilience thinking currently invoked as a major tool to achieve the conservation of the socio-ecological system, as well as it is complimentary to the outcome-oriented optimization for conservation theory. For the case study about farmers and the use of herbicides, we conclude that a complex reasoning and, ultimately, pro-environmental actions can be improved after experiencing the recommended model for environmental education.     

ISOPROTURON DEGRADATION AS AFFECTED BY THE GROWTH OF TWO ALGAL SPECIES AT DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS AND pH VALUES

Metabolism of [¹⁴C-u-phenyl]isoproturon [3-(4-isopropylphenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] by two soil and freshwater microorganisms, green alga Chlorella kesslerei and cyanobacterium Anabaena inaequalis, was studied as a function of pH, pesticide concentration, and incubation time. Metabolized isoproturon, in the media, ranged from 0% (Chlorella at pH 5.5 after 1 d) to 22% (Anabaena at pH 5.5 after 10 d). Twenty-five percent faster degradation of isoproturon by Anabaena occurred at pH 5.5 versus pH 7.5, when measured over 10 d. Increased ¹⁴C incorporation into tissue, with time and at lower pH, was due mainly to bioaccumulation of [¹⁴C]isoproturon and/or its metabolites in the cells. Metabolic degradation resulted in four identifiable (by TLC) metabolites. Based on this, a degradation pathway is proposed, involving mono- and di-N-demethylation, hydroxylation of the isopropyl moiety, and hydrolysis to 4-isopropylaniline. Similarity in the metabolites produced suggests that the enzyme systems responsible for metabolizing isoproturon are almost identical in both photosynthetic micro-algae.