Agrochemical spray drift; assessment and mitigation--a review

During application of agrochemicals spray droplets can drift beyond the intended target to non-target receptors, including water, plants and animals. Factors affecting this spray drift include mode of application, droplet size, which can be modified by the nozzle types, formulation adjuvants, wind direction, wind speed, air stability, relative humidity, temperature and height of released spray relative to the crop canopy. The rate of fall of spray droplets depends upon the size of the droplets but is modified by entrainment in a mobile air mass and is also influenced by the rate of evaporation of the liquid constituting the aerosol. The longer the aerosol remains in the air before falling to the ground (or alternatively striking an object above ground) the greater the opportunity for it to be carried away from its intended target. In general, all size classes of droplets are capable of movement off target, but the smallest are likely to move the farthest before depositing on the ground or a non-target receptor. It is not possible to avoid spray drift completely but it can be minimized by using best-management practices. These include using appropriate nozzle types, shields, spray pressure, volumes per area sprayed, tractor speed and only spraying when climatic conditions are suitable. Field layout can also influence spray drift, whilst crop-free and spray-free buffer zones and windbreak crops can also have a mitigating effect. Various models are available to estimate the environmental exposure from spray drift at the time of application.     

新型离心式脱硫塔气液两相流数值模拟

利用FLUENT软件和SIMPLE算法对新型旋流脱硫塔的气液两相流场进行了数值模拟。计算中气相采用了RSM湍流模型,颗粒相采用了Lagrange坐标系下的随机轨道模型。分析结果表明,气相流场具有强旋流特性;喷射液滴的直径、喷淋量和烟气流速影响其在塔内的分布:喷射液滴粒径越大、喷射量越小、烟气流速越大,入口段降温越少;塔体上方截面平均浓度随液滴粒径的增加而降低,随液气比的增加而增加,随烟气流速的增加会先增加至最高值然后降低。喷淋液滴在其他运行参数不变时,平均粒径范围为0.5～1 mm,会对进口烟气起到较好的净化与降温的作用,并使塔体上方喷淋液滴在截面z=4.15 m处浓度分布均匀且覆盖率高;在保证液滴粒径较小时,通过降低烟气流速或增加喷淋量可提高液滴喷淋覆盖率,使得烟气与喷淋充分接触。计算得到的气相流场分布与实测值吻合较好,证明了数学模型的合理性,为进一步优化分离器结构提供了可靠依据。     

Polymer and invert emulsifying oil effects upon droplet size spectra of sprays

Abstract

A series of wind tunnel atomization studies were carried out to investigate the effects of polymer and invert suspension oil “drift control adjuvants” upon the droplet size distribution spectra produced by nozzles typically used in aerial and ground based spraying of pesticides. A D8–46 disc and core was used as a typical aerial application nozzle, and an 8003 fan nozzle was used for the ground based sprayers simulation. The droplet size spectra were evaluated in a wind tunnel using a Malvern 2600 laser particle size analyzer immediately upon mixing and at 15 minutes after re‐circulation through a pumping system. The addition of the polymer‐based adjuvants significantly increased the droplet size spectra parameters of the spray cloud, but all the polymer products showed signs of breakdown of their molecular arrangements in the liquid medium, as a result of agitation. The invert suspension oil adjuvant did not change the droplet size spectra markedly, nor did it show signs of breakdown of the internal liquid structure after re‐circulation.     

Minimizing drift and exposure from knapsack sprayers

Abstract

An improved drift shield for attaching to the lance of conventional knapsack sprayer to reduce wind induced drift and operator exposure was designed and tested. The drift shield consists of a conical wire frame covered with polythene and has an annular opening at the point of attachment to the lance which allows air to be drawn into the shield while spraying. Tests conducted with winds in the range of 1.25–5.75 m/s show that wind can increase the width of spray swath from an unshielded lance, up to 4.3 times the normal swath in no‐wind condition. Use of a conventional shield contained the swath width within 3.5 times and the improved shield restricted the swath width to 3.1 times the normal swath. Spray deposit from an unshielded lance, within the normal swath decreased to as low as 45%, due to wind effects. However, use of the conventional, and the improved shields enhanced the spray deposit to 54.2% and 68%, respectively. The improved drift shield improved the spray pattern displacement (SPD) significantly (P<0.05) compared with the conventional shield and the unshielded lance when the wind speed exceeded 1.25 m/s. The improved shield decreased the off target drift by as much as 63% compared with the unshielded spray. It also decreased the quantity of pesticide deposit on the operator's body by 41–84% and thereby reduced exposure and improved safety.     

Residues and half-lives of pyrethrins on field-grown pepper and tomato

The dried flower heads of Tanacetum cinerariifolium Trev. (Family: Compositae) contain insecticidal compounds collectively called "pyrethrins." Pyrethrins are the subject of intense interest for use in crop protection because their toxicological properties permit control of certain insect species at application rates as low as 5-10 g AI acre(-1). Seedlings of sweet pepper, Capsicum annuum L. cv. Bell Boy Hybrid and tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Mountain Spring F1 Hybrid were planted and sprayed with a Multi-Purpose Insecticide formulation that contains 0.2% pyrethrins, 1.0% piperonyl butoxide (PBO), 88% diatomaceous earth, and 10.8% inert ingredients. The formulation was sprayed on pepper and tomato foliage when tomato fruits became red ripe and pepper became mature green at the rate of 6 lbs of formulated product per acre (5.4 and 27.2 g AI of pyrethrins and PBO, respectively). Following spraying, pepper and tomato leaves and fruits were collected at different time intervals for residue analysis using a high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) equipped with a UV detector. Residues of pyrethrins and PBO were generally higher on the leaves than fruits. Initial deposits (1 h following spraying) of pyrethrins were significantly higher on pepper than tomato fruits. Half-life (T1/2) values on pepper and tomato fruits did not exceed 2 h. Where concern exists over synthetic pesticide residues on treated crops and in the environment, pyrethrins are suitable alternatives that can be used to reduce the risk of exposure to synthetic pesticide residues.     

Effect of in vitro administered 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on DNA-binding activities of nuclear transcription factors in NIH-3T3 mouse fibroblasts

Abstract

Most modern pesticides are expensive. Application of excessive dosage rates is likely to cause undesirable biological side‐effects and is economically wasteful. Non‐uniform distribution of the spray cloud, or application at the wrong time, may result in failure to control the pest. It is the responsibility of the field operator to acquire sufficient knowledge and skill to ensure proper use of the control agents, to increase efficiency of their usage and to reduce unwanted side‐effects. To achieve this goal, he must take into consideration the various physical factors that govern field performance of pesticides.

A simple relationship exists between the spray volume and emission rate used, and droplet size produced. The use of extremely low spray volumes (i.e., those less than 2.0 litre per ha) for forest insect control in Canada, as opposed to higher volumes used in agriculture, necessitates the release of fine droplets (ranging from 20 to 70 μm in diameter) to obtain adequate coverage of the target area. These droplets take a long time to sediment downwards, evaporate in‐flight, become smaller in size and/or form powdery residues, thus contributing to off‐target drift and impaired droplet adhesion to target surfaces. Physical factors such as rain washing, degradation by sunlight and erosion by wind also influence the longevity of pesticide deposits on foliage which is crucial during the critical period of pest control.

Factors affecting the mode of entry into insects are related to the type of ingredients used in formulation. If a pesticide acts via crawling contact, formulations which would provide surface deposits would be more beneficial than emulsions or oil‐based mixes which tend to undergo penetration into foliar cuticle. Physical factors that affect field performance of a pesticide tank mix are related to phase separation and ‘breakdown of emulsions’ in the application equipment; ‘agglomeration and caking’ of wettable powder dispersions at the bottom of the tank; impaired flow behaviour of highly viscous formulations; and coarse atomization of high‐viscosity tank mixes leading to poor target cover.     

Pesticide dispersion by spraying under tropical conditions

Pesticide air pollution by spraying was evaluated under different temperature, humidity and wind climatic conditions in Brazil. Field experiments were performed with application towards the soil and in guava orchards, where spray dispersion was monitored by adding p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), a fluorescent substance, as a tracer to the water contained in the spray tanks. Samples were collected with filter membranes (Whatman 180025), and the PABA was extracted from the filters by shaking with water in a Petri dish and measured in a spectrofluorometer. A spray aimed towards the soil with filters positioned on the ground and hung at different heights did not show different upward dispersion as observed when lateral pulverization was conducted. In this case, a tractor with a sprayer moved through a 3 m high and 6 m wide frame with filter membranes mounted at 60 cm intervals. Spray dispersion patterns were modified by guava leaf resistance. No influence of temperature and humidity was observed in this short-lived spraying process. Nevertheless, wind drift can occur during airborne dispersion and is an important pesticide pollution source which requires control. Droplets with PABA powered by assisted spraying upwards returned to the ground by gravity and, therefore, did not constitute a vertical source of atmospheric pollution.     

Drift of 10 herbicides after tractor spray application. 2. Primary drift (droplet drift)

In the present study the primary drift of 10 herbicides was investigated in five field experiments, and the amount deposited per surface area was quantified outside the application area using simple passive dosimeters. In addition, samples for measuring a possible background value were taken upwind of the sprayed field. Deposits of spray drift were common to all spray equipment and spray was detected up to 150 m off-target. There were deposits of 0.1-9% of the applied amount close to the sprayed field (up to 2 m). But 3m from the spraying zone deposits were reduced to 0.02-4%. The amounts decreased exponentially when moving away from the field. The differences in drift could be described mainly by the different drop sizes, the wind velocity, the formulation and the filtering effect of vegetation on the sampling area. The tendency of the active ingredients to evaporate could also have an, although less important, influence on the drift. This is a factor, which ought to be exposed to a further study. The findings supported that it is the physical properties of the spray and the conditions of application (i.e. equipment and meteorology) that are the primary determinants of primary drift rather than the chemical property of the pure active ingredients.     

Development and field validation of an indicator to assess the relative mobility and risk of pesticides in the Lourens River catchment,South Africa

A GIS based pesticide risk indicator that integrates exposure variables (i.e. pesticide application, geographic, physicochemical and crop data) and toxicity endpoints (using species sensitivity distributions) was developed to estimate the Predicted Relative Exposure (PREX) and Predicted Relative Risk (PRRI) of applied pesticides to aquatic ecosystem health in the Lourens River catchment, Western Cape, South Africa. Samples were collected weekly at five sites from the beginning of the spraying season (October) till the beginning of the rainy season (April) and were semi quantitatively analysed for relevant pesticides applied according to the local farmers spraying programme. Monitoring data indicate that physicochemical data obtained from international databases are reliable indicators of pesticide behaviour in the Western Cape of South Africa. Sensitivity analysis identified K_OC as the most important parameter influencing predictions of pesticide loading derived from runoff. A comparison to monitoring data showed that the PREX successfully identified hotspot sites, gave a reasonable estimation of the relative contamination potential of different pesticides at a site and identified important routes of exposure (i.e. runoff or spray drift) of different pesticides at different sites. All pesticides detected during a monitored runoff event, were indicated as being more associated with runoff than spray drift by the PREX. The PRRI identified azinphos-methyl and chlorpyrifos as high risk pesticides towards the aquatic ecosystem. These results contribute to providing increased confidence in the use of risk indicator applications and, in particular, could lead to improved utilisation of limited resources for monitoring and management in resource constrained countries.     

Buffer zone widths for honeybees from ground and aerial spraying of insecticides

The relative field hazards of insecticides to honeybees have been estimated by considering intrinsic toxicity levels and field application rates. This approach is extended here to a consideration of buffer zones downwind of sprayed areas by estimating the distance at which bees would encounter an LD(50) dose from spray drift. 'LD(50) distances' are determined for both ground and aerial spraying of ground crops in Britain using published data on spray deposition under various weather conditions. For ground spraying at low wind speeds (< or =3 m s(-1)), this zone of risk is up to 5 m for the great majority of compounds. Aerial spraying in unstable atmospheric conditions appears to produce drift deposits of about the same order of magnitude as from ground spraying at wind speeds of about 4 m s(-1), with maximum LD(50) distances of < or =40 m for chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion and triazophos. For aerial spraying in stable atmospheric conditions these distances would be much greater. Pieris brassicae larvae are contrasted with honeybees in their relative sensitivities to insecticides and consequent LD(50) distances.     

Response of grassland ecosystem to air pollutants: I-Experimental concept and site of the Braunschweig grassland investigation program

Temporal changes in spatial distribution and population density of linyphiid spiders were studied in relation to physical factors and deltamethrin spraying in the field. The results of the study have been used to set the conditions necessary when plot size is reduced in field trials. The results showed independence of observations at 7 m from an unsprayed reservoir, with respect to migration, in the week following pesticide application. Soil moisture had a positive effect on trapping success, without having apparent effect on trapping success, without having was found for deltamethrin spraying on wet and dry soil. Shifts in the spatial distribution of spider activity showed a close correlation with crop microclimatic conditions. The effect of trapping on population density was shown to be limited. The results suggest that small plots surrounded by a border of 7 m are appropriate for assessing short term pesticide effects on adult linyphiid spiders in winter wheat.     

Assessing possible exposures of ground troops to agent orange during the vietnam War: The use of contemporary military records

BACKGROUND: Potential exposure of ground troops in Vietnam to Agent Orange and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) remains controversial despite the passage of 30 years since the Vietnam War. Because of uncertainty over the serum dioxin levels in ground troops at the end of their service in Vietnam, attempts have been made to develop a methodology for characterizing exposure of ground troops in Vietnam to Agent Orange and other herbicides based upon historical reconstruction from military records. Historical information is often useful in evaluating and modeling exposure, but such information should be reasonably accurate, complete, and reliable. METHODS: This paper reviews the procedures and supporting historical information related to the spraying of herbicides in Vietnam. The historical information is classified into two categories: procedural information and operational information. Procedural information covered the process and procedures followed in spraying herbicides from US Air Force fixed wing aircraft (Operation RANCH HAND) in Vietnam, and included approval procedures for spray missions, the criteria required to conduct a mission, the control exercised by the Forward Air Controller and the Tactical Air Control Center and the characteristics of the equipment used to apply the herbicides. Operational information includes data from the RANCH HAND Daily Air Activities Reports, which included geographic locations of specific spray missions, the amount of herbicide sprayed by a specific mission, reports of battle damage to spray aircraft, reports of fighter aircraft support for aerial spray missions, and any comments, such as reasons for canceling a mission. RESULTS: Historical information demonstrates that herbicide spray missions were carefully planned and that spraying only occurred when friendly forces were not located in the target area. RANCH HAND spray missions were either not approved or cancelled if approved when there were friendly forces in the area designated for spraying. Stringent criteria had to be met before spray missions could be approved. The operational information shows that spray missions for both defoliation and crop destruction were conducted in an extremely hostile environment. Heavy 'fighter suppression' with antipersonnel ordnance was used to minimize the impact of hostile ground fire on RANCH HAND aircraft. Procedures were in place that prohibited movement of troops into sprayed areas immediately after a mission due to the possible presence of unexploded ordnance delivered by fighter aircraft supporting RANCH HAND missions. The optimal nature of the spray equipment and application procedures minimized the possibility of significant spray drift. Conclusions. Few friendly troops were sprayed by fixed wing aircraft during Operation RANCH HAND, which delivered 95% of all defoliants used in Vietnam. Similarly, few troops were sprayed during helicopter or surface-based spray operations, which constituted the remaining 5% of defoliants. Detailed policies and procedures for approval and execution of spray missions ensured that friendly forces were not located in the areas targeted for spraying. Fighter aircraft assigned to accompany each spray mission frequently suppressed much of the hostile fire with bombs and other ordnance. Confirmed clearance of the target area was necessary to avoid friendly casualties. Historical records establish that these policies and procedures were strictly followed. Exposure of troops whether from direct spraying or movement through areas recently sprayed was very unlikely. The wartime military records of troop positions and herbicide operations are valuable for some purposes, but have specific limitations in exposure reconstruction. The completeness and accuracy of the geographic data (maps used by RANCH HAND and military ground units) were dependent upon the inherent precision of the map, the accuracy with which it depicted surface features, and the completeness and accuracy of the information on which it is based. Navigation by the crew using visual orientation and reference to the map was the only means that aircrew on spray missions had for establishing their locations. A Forward Air Controller independent of Operation RANCH HAND was present at the location of each spray target immediately before and during spraying operations to verify the target location and ensure that friendly forces were clear of the target area. Anecdotal reports of direct spraying of troops in Vietnam likely reflect the RANCH HAND missions spraying insecticide for mosquito control at regular intervals from March 1967 through February 1972. Outlook. The distribution and levels of serum dioxin in RANCH HAND veterans and the US Army Chemical Corps Vietnam veterans (the unit responsible for helicopter and ground-based spray operations) are distinguishable from typical levels in the population decades after the Vietnam conflict. An exposure model similar to that proposed in the 2003 report of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on 'Characterizing Exposure of Veterans to Agent Orange and Other Herbicides Used in Vietnam' was tested in 1988 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and found to be a poor predictor of absorbed dose of TCDD. Military records during the Vietnam War lack the precision to determine that troops were directly sprayed with herbicides during Operation RANCH HAND, especially given the procedures in place to ensure clearance of friendly forces from the target area and the lack of elevated serum levels of TCDD in ground troops judged to have operated in heavily sprayed areas.     

A validated 2-D diffusion–advection model for prediction of drift from ground boom sprayers

Correct field drift prediction is a key element in environmental risk assessment of spraying applications. A reduced order drift prediction model based on the diffusion–advection equation is presented. It allows fast assessment of the drift potential of specific ground boom applications under specific environmental wind conditions that obey the logarithmic wind profile. The model was calibrated based on simulations with a validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Validation of both models against 38 carefully conducted field experiments is successfully performed for distances up to 20 m from the field edge, for spraying on flat pasture land. The reduced order model succeeded in correct drift predictions for different nozzle types, wind velocities, boom heights and spray pressures. It used 4 parameters representing the physical aspects of the drift cloud; the height of the cloud at the field edge, the mass flux crossing the field edge, the settling velocity of the droplets and the turbulence. For the parameter set and range considered, it is demonstrated for the first time that the effect of the droplet diameter distribution of the different nozzle types on the amount of deposition spray drift can be evaluated by a single parameter, i.e., the volume fraction of droplets with a diameter smaller than 191 μm. The reduced order model can be solved more than 4 orders of magnitude faster than the comprehensive CFD model.     

Spray irrigation of landfill leachate: estimating potential exposures to workers and bystanders using a modified air box model and generalised source term

Generalised source term data from UK leachates and a probabilistic exposure model (BPRISC(4)) were used to evaluate key routes of exposure from chemicals of concern during the spraying irrigation of landfill leachate. Risk estimates secured using a modified air box model are reported for a hypothetical worker exposed to selected chemicals within a generalised conceptual exposure model of spray irrigation. Consistent with pesticide spray exposure studies, the key risk driver is dermal exposure to the more toxic components of leachate. Changes in spray droplet diameter (0.02-0.2 cm) and in spray flow rate (50-1000 l/min) have little influence on dermal exposure, although the lesser routes of aerosol ingestion and inhalation are markedly affected. The risk estimates modelled using this conservative worst case exposure scenario are not of sufficient magnitude to warrant major concerns about chemical risks to workers or bystanders from this practice in the general sense. However, the modelling made use of generic concentration data for only a limited number of potential landfill leachate contaminants, such that individual practices may require assessment on the basis of their own merits.     

Plant uptake of pesticides and human health: dynamic modeling of residues in wheat and ingestion intake

Human intake of pesticide residues from consumption of processed food plays an important role for evaluating current agricultural practice. We take advantage of latest developments in crop-specific plant uptake modeling and propose an innovative dynamic model to estimate pesticide residues in the wheat-environment system, dynamiCROP. We used this model to analyze uptake and translocation of pesticides in wheat after foliar spray application and subsequent intake fractions by humans. Based on the evolution of residues in edible parts of harvested wheat we predict that between 22 mg and 2.1 g per kg applied pesticide are taken in by humans via consumption of processed wheat products. Model results were compared with experimentally derived concentrations in wheat ears and with estimated intake via inhalation and ingestion caused by indirect emissions, i.e. the amount lost to the environment during pesticide application. Modeled and measured concentrations in wheat fitted very well and deviate from less than a factor 1.5 for chlorothalonil to a maximum factor 3 for tebuconazole. Main aspects influencing pesticide fate behavior are degradation half-life in plant and time between pesticide application and crop harvest, leading to variations in harvest fraction of at least three orders of magnitude. Food processing may further reduce residues by approximately 63%. Intake fractions from residues in sprayed wheat were up to four orders of magnitude higher than intake fractions estimated from indirect emissions, thereby demonstrating the importance of exposure from consumption of food crops after direct pesticide treatment.     

Prediction of pesticide concentrations in the atmosphere using an atmospheric diffusion model (linear source plume model)

The foundational model to predict concentration of pesticides in the atmosphere outside of the sprayed area was developed using the results of measured concentration in the atmosphere, in reference to the atmospheric diffusion model utilized for the air pollution prediction model. The atmospheric diffusion model assumes that the applied area was a topographically flat farmland, that wind direction and wind speeds were constant, and the pesticide was constantly discharged from the emission line sources. Therefore the linear source plume model (LSPLM) was developed. The concentration in the atmosphere was predicted by assigning the property of the pesticides and various conditions of measurements of the model, and compared with the measured them, then the adaptability of the model was examined. As a result, the correlation between the measured value and the predicted value in paddy and forested areas was significant (P < 0.01) although deviations in the order of tens were observed, the measured value and the predicted value were generally in agreement.     

Effects of droplet density and concentration on the efficacy of bacillus thuringiensis and carbaryl against gypsy moth larvae (Lymantria dispar L.)

Abstract

The feeding behavior of gypsy moth larvae exposed to two pesticide deposits (Bt and carbaryl) on oak leaf disks was monitored to determine the relationships between its efficacy and application parameters (droplet density and pesticide concentration). A range of pesticide concentrations and droplet densities (from 9 to 149 droplets/cm²) was used to simulate high and low application rates produced by different methods of application in the field.

The LD₅₀ and the LC₅₀, appeared to be affected by the spatial distribution of the deposit on the leaf surface. Both Bt and carbaryl showed a decreasing LD₅₀ at increasing time after spray. The LD₅₀ of Bt decreased from 14.1 BIU/liter to 3.1 BIU/Iiter between 48 and 144 hours after spray. The results show that feeding inhibition by Bt is more closely related to concentration than to droplet density and dose per unit area with the highest feeding inhibition occurring at 10 BIU/liter at 9 droplets/cm². With carbaryl, an increase in both concentration and droplet density was necessary to cause a decrease in leaf area eaten by larvae.     

Transfer assessment of carbendazim residues from rapeseed to oil production determined by HPLC–MS/MS

Abstract

It is crucial to develop practical procedures for the control and reduction of pesticide residues in oil productions from farm to dining table. In this study, the dissipation behaviors of typical fungicide from rapeseed to oil production were studied to reveal relationship among spraying stage, application dosage, household oil processing stage, and pesticide residues. In the field trials, rape plants were sprayed with carbendazim at three different dosages during flowering period. Transfer assessment of carbendazim residues from rapeseed to oil production during household oil processing via different press techniques was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). The recoveries of carbendazim in rapeseed samples, meals after squeezing samples, and rapeseed oil samples ranged from 82.5% to 93.6% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ＜5.2%. The validation results illustrated that the methods were reliable and sensitive. The average processing factor (PF) during household oil processing via hot press technique and cold press technique was 0.15 and 0.51, respectively. This study demonstrated that household oil processing could significantly reduce the pesticide residues, especially by hot press technique.     

Rain‐washing of mimic®, RH‐5992, from balsam fir foliage following application of two formulations

Abstract

Two formulation concentrates of the insecticide, RH‐5992 [N'‐t‐butyl‐N'‐(3,5‐dimethylbenzoyl)‐N‐(4‐ethylbenzoyI) hydrazine], an aqueous flowable (2F) and an emulsion‐suspension (ES), were diluted with water to provide spray mixes containing dosage rates ranging from 35 to 150 g of the active ingredient (AI)/ha. The mixes were sprayed in a laboratory chamber, onto balsam fir branch tips collected from field trees and greenhouse‐grown seedlings. Droplet spectra and spray mass recovery were determined on artificial samplers. Simulated rainfall of two different intensities was applied at different rain‐free periods, and rain droplet sizes were determined. Foliar washoff of RH‐5992 was assessed after application of different amounts of rain, and the increase in soil residues was evaluated.

A direct relationship was indicated between the amount of rainfall and RH‐5992 washoff. The larger the rain droplet size, the greater the amount washed off. Longer rain‐free periods made the deposits more resistant to rain. Regardless of the amount of rainfall, rain droplet size and rain‐free period, foliar deposits of the 2F formulation were washed off to a greater extent than the ES formulation. The increase in soil residues due to foliar washoff was greater for the 2F than for the ES formulation. The deposits of the emulsion‐suspension were consistently more resistant to rain‐washing than those of the aqueous flowable formulation.     

Influence of pesticides contamination on the emission of PCDD/PCDF to the land from open burning of corn straws

Open burning of crop residues has been identified as an important emission source of PCDD/PCDF to the environment. This paper presents the first known data on the emission of PCDD/PCDF to the land considering the influence of pesticides applied in crops planting. Emission factor for PCDD/PCDF to the land from open burning of corn straw with pesticides contamination ranged from 0.07 to 0.57 ng WHO₂₀₀₅-TEQ/kg straw burned with a mean value of 0.24 ng WHO₂₀₀₅-TEQ/kg straw burned and median value of 0.20 ng WHO₂₀₀₅-TEQ/kg straw burned, respectively. The concentration was 35 to 270 times higher than that without additional pesticide contaminated. Initial observation was that emission factor for PCDD/PCDF from open burning of crop residues was overestimated in the former UNEP Dioxin Toolkit. Pesticides contamination should be considered in some hotpots where special and over dosed pesticides has been sprayed especially in developing countries.