Official control of plant protection products in Poland: detection of illegal products

Market presence of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is now a global problem. According to data published in 2012 by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), illegal products represent over 10% of the global market of plant protection products. Financial benefits are the main reason for the prevalence of this practice. Counterfeit and illegal pesticides may contain substances that may pose a threat to the environment, crops, animals, and humans, inconsistent with the label and registration dossier. In Poland, action against illegal and counterfeit plant protection products is undertaken by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (PIORiN), the police, the prosecution, and the pesticide producers. Results of chemical analyses carried out by the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute So?nicowice Branch, Pesticide Quality Testing Laboratory (PQTL IPP-NRI Sosnicowice Branch) indicate that a majority of illegal pesticides in Poland are detected in the group of herbicides. Products from parallel trade tend to have the most irregularities. This article describes the official quality control system of plant protection products in Poland and presents the analytical methods for testing pesticides suspected of adulteration and recent test results.     

Estimating Evapotranspiration for Dryland Cropping Systems in the Semiarid Texas High Plains Using SWAT

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is one of the most widely used watershed models for simulating hydrology in response to agricultural management practices. However, limited studies have been performed to evaluate the SWAT model's ability to estimate daily and monthly evapotranspiration (ET) in semiarid regions. ET values were simulated using ArcSWAT 2012 for a lysimeter field managed under dryland conditions at the USDA‐ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas, and compared with measured lysimeter values from 2000 to 2010. Two scenarios were performed to compare SWAT's performance: (1) use of default plant leaf area index (LAI) values in the embedded plant database and (2) adjusted LAI values. Scenario 1 resulted in an “unsatisfactory” Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.42 and 0.38 for the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Scenario 2 resulted in a “satisfactory” NSE value for the calibration period while achieving a “good” NSE of 0.70 for the validation period. SWAT generally underestimated ET at both the daily and monthly levels. Overestimation during fallow years may be due to the limitations of the pothole function used to simulate furrow diking. Users should be aware of potential errors associated with using default LAI parameters. Inaccuracies in ET estimation may also stem from errors in the plant stress functions, particularly when evaluating water management practices for dryland watersheds.     

Content of selected elements and low-molecular-weight organic acids in fruiting bodies of edible mushroom Boletus badius (Fr.) Fr. from unpolluted and polluted areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of the study was to (i) investigate the potential of edible mushroom Boletus badius (Fr.) Fr. to accumulate 53 elements from unpolluted acidic...     

Concentration,sources and risk assessment of PAHs in bottom sediments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aims of the study were to investigate the concentration, sources and ecological risk of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in bottom...     

Unexpected difference in phenol sorption on PTMA- and BTMA-bentonite

The comparison of phenol sorption on phenyltrimethylammonium (PTMA)- and benzyltrimethylammonium (BTMA)-bentonite shows a clear difference as far as phenol sorption isotherms are concerned. For PTMA-bentonite the sorption isotherm is of a straight-line character which results from simple partitioning of phenol between the aqueous and organic phases sorbed on the bentonite surface. For BTMA-bentonite the isotherm has a convex shape, characteristic of physicochemical sorption.For the first time a three-parametric model, including the dissociation constant of phenol pK_a, distribution constant of phenol Kd_phen and phenolate anion Kd_phen⁻ between the aqueous phase and the bentonite phases is used for the evaluation of phenol sorption on organoclays with pH change. The model shows that the values of Kd_phen are higher than those of Kd_phen⁻ for all investigated initial phenol concentrations.The inspection of the FTIR spectrum of BTMA-bentonite loaded with phenol in the regions 1300–1600 and 1620–1680 cm⁻¹ shows the features of π–π electron interaction between the benzene rings of phenol and the BTMA cation together with the phenol–water hydrogen bond strengthened by this interaction.     

Application of different chromatographic techniques and chemometric analysis in authenticity testing of plant protection products containing azoxystrobin as an active substance

Azoxystrobin (methyl(2E)-2-{2-[6-(2-cyanophenoxy)pyrimidin-4-yloxy] phenyl}-3-methoxyacrylate) is an active ingredient used to protect crops against fungal diseases. The experience of the Polish control laboratory indicates relatively frequent cases of counterfeit plant protection products (PPPs) containing this active substance. The present study aimed to use chemometric methods to model chemical fingerprints obtained by different chromatographic techniques to verify the original formulation of PPPs containing the active substance azoxystrobin. The pesticides used in the study came from different sources (including stores and warehouses), were manufactured at a different time and came from different production batches. The results obtained with the HPLC-DAD and HS-GC-MS techniques were then modeled using principal component analysis (PCA) and soft independent modeling by class analogy (SIMCA) classifier. The proposed approach has been confirmed as useful for verifying the authenticity of PPPs and can be used in the routine control testing of SC pesticides containing azoxystrobin.     

Biological monitoring versus air monitoring strategies in assessing environmental-occupational exposure

Assessment of environmental and occupational exposure to chemicals can be performed with environmental monitoring (EM) and biological monitoring (BM). Biological monitoring was for a long time considered as a method complementary to environmental monitoring. At present this attitude is changing and in certain areas biological monitoring is applied as the method of choice for exposure and health-risk assessment. This paper examines advantages and disadvantages of those two approaches. In occupational settings environmental monitoring of exposure to VOCs seems to be superior to biological monitoring (possibility of simultaneous determination of components of mixtures, simple interpretation, possibility of evaluation of short-term exposure to local irritants). In the case of this group of compounds BM can be useful in selected cases such as evaluation of dermal absorption or efficiency of protective measures. In the case of metals both forms of monitoring can be used depending on the available methods for interpretation of results. BM of exposure may be considered as superior for evaluating the effects of exposure to lead, cadmium and mercury. However, quantitative evaluation of cancer risk after exposure to arsenic or chromium is possible only on the basis of determination in the air and the use of unit risk values. Both environmental and biological monitoring are useful for evaluation of occupational and environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In certain areas such as evaluation of exposure to external tobacco smoking, cytostatic drugs, and pesticides, biological monitoring is the method of choice used for individual exposure assessment or tracing the trends of environmental exposure.     

Applicability of MIEX®DOC process for organics removal from NOM laden water

The aim of this study was to evaluate applicability of ion exchange process for organics removal from Douro River surface water at the intake of Lever water treatment plant using magnetized ion exchange resin MIEX®. Qualitative analysis of the natural organic matter present in the surface water and prediction of its amenability to removal in conventional coagulation process were assessed. Results obtained in MIEX®DOC process kinetic batch experiments allowed determination of ion exchange efficiency in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), UV absorbing organics, and true color removal. The data were compared with the efficiencies of the conventional unit processes for organics removal at Lever WTP. MIEX®DOC process revealed to be more efficient in DOC removal than conventional treatment achieving the efficiencies in the range of 61–91 %, lowering disinfection by-products formation potential of the water. DOC removal efficiency at Lever WTP depends largely on the raw water quality and ranges from 28 % for water of moderated quality to 89 % of significantly deteriorated quality. In this work, MIEX®DOC process was also used as a reference method for the determination of contribution of anionic fraction to dissolved organic matter and selectivity of the unit processes at Lever WTP for its removal.