Photochemical degradation of atrazine in UV and UV/H2O2 process: pathways and toxic effects of products

The degradation of atrazine in aqueous solution by UV or UV/H₂O₂ processes, and the toxic effects of the degradation products were explored. The mineralization of atrazine was not observed in the UV irradiation process, resulting in the production of hydroxyatrazine (OIET) as the final product. In the UV/H₂O₂ process, the final product was ammeline (OAAT), which was obtained by two different pathways of reaction: dechlorination followed by hydroxylation, and the de-alkylation of atrazine. The by-products of the reaction of dechlorination followed by hydroxylation were OIET and hydroxydeethyl atrazine (OIAT), and those of de-alkylation were deisopropyl atrazine (CEAT), deethyl atrazine (CIAT), and deethyldeisopropyl atrazine (CAAT). OIAT and OAAT appeared to be quite stable in the degradation of atrazine by the UV/H₂O₂ process. In a toxicity test using Daphnia magna, the acute toxic unit (TUa) was less than 1 of TUa (100/EC₅₀, %) in the UV/H₂O₂ process after 30 min of reaction time, while 1.2 to 1.3 of TUa was observed in the UV process. The TUa values of atrazine and the degradation products have the following decreasing order: OIET> Atrazine> CEAT≈CIAT> CAAT. OIAT and OAAT did not show any toxic effects.