Emissions of the Urban Biocide Terbutryn from Facades: The Contribution of Transformation Products

Abstract

Biocides are added to facade paints and renders to prevent algal and fungal growth. The emissions of biocides and their transformation products from building facades during winddriven rain can contaminate surface waters, soil, and groundwater. Although the emissions of biocide transformation products may be higher than those of the parent biocide, knowledge of the emissions of transformation products over time is scarce. Combining field-and lab-scale experiments, we showed that solar irradiation on facades controls the formation of transformation products and can be used with runoff volume to estimate the long-term emissions of terbutryn transformation products from facades. The slow (t 1/2 > 90 d) photodegradation of terbutryn in paint under environmental conditions was associated with insignificant carbon isotope fractionation (Δδ 13 C < 2 ‰) and caused 20% higher emission of terbutryn-sulfoxide than terbutryn in leachates from facades. This indicated continuous terbutryn diffusion toward the paint surface, which favored terbutryn photodegradation and the concomitant formation of transformation products over time. The emissions of terbutryn transformation products (77 mg m −2 ) in facade leachates, modeled based on irradiation and facade runoff, were predicted to exceed those of terbutryn (42 mg m −2 ) by nearly 2-fold after eight years. Overall, this study provides a framework to estimate and account for the long-term emissions of biocide transformation products from building facades to improve the assessment of environmental risks.