Importance of Fine Particles in Pesticide Runoff from Concrete Surfaces and Its Prediction

Abstract

Pesticides such as pyrethroids have been frequently found in runoff water from urban areas and the offsite movement is a significant cause for aquatic toxicities in urban streams and estuaries. To better understand the origination of pesticide residues in urban runoff, we investigated the association of pyrethroid residues with loose particles in runoff water from concrete surfaces after treatment with commercial products of bifenthrin and permethrin. In runoff water generated from simulated precipitations after 1 to 89 d exposure under dry outdoor conditions, over 80% of the pesticides was found on particles >0.7 μm for most treatments. The solid-water partitioning coefficient (K(d)) on day 1 was estimated to be 2.4 × 10(3) to 1.1 × 10(5) L/kg for permethrin and bifenthrin on these solids. Except for solid formulations, the pesticide-laden particles likely originated from dust particles preexisting on the concrete before treatment and the disintegration of the surficial concrete matter through weathering. We consequently tested a simple sponge-wipe method to collect and analyze the loose particles on concrete. Concurrent analyses (n = 30) showed an excellent linear correlation between the amount of pesticides transferrable to runoff water and that on the wipe (R(2) = 0.78, slope = 1.13 ± 0.11, P < 0.0001). The fact that the linear relationship has a slope close to 1.0 suggests that this method may be used to predict pesticide residues available for contaminating runoff water before runoff actually occurs. The importance of loose particles should be considered when developing practices to mitigate pesticide runoff contamination from urban residential areas.

Contribution of household herbicide usage to glyphosate and its degradate aminomethylphosphonic acid in surface water drains

“…In the study reported here, run‐off from driveways, pavements, etc., was diverted to surface water drains, while wastewater from the house was directed separately to foul sewers. It is acknowledged that other research on urban pollution arising from residential usage of chemicals exists . However, such work is irrelevant to the present discussion where the aim was to assess the extent to which different uses (household versus roads/amenity) of the most commonly used herbicide in urban areas (i.e.…”

Insecticides in sediment cores from a rural and a suburban area in South China: A reflection of shift in application patterns

“…Pesticides may reach surface water through various pathways, such as atmospheric deposition, surface runoff, and sewage drainage (Lin et al, 2008;Jiang and Gan, 2012). As a consequence, pesticide pollution in aquatic ecosystems has gained worldwide awareness because of their ubiquity in the environment and potential risk to aquatic organisms and human health (Beketov et al, 2013;Malaj et al, 2014).…”

Enantiomer‐specific measurements of current‐use pesticides in aquatic systems

“…All samples were previously extracted and analyzed by the organization that provided the samples to USEPA and were selected because they had detectable quantities of at least 1 of the analytes of interest (permethrin, bifenthrin, fipronil, cypermethrin, and cyfluthrin). Details of the previous research on these samples are outside the scope of the present study but in some cases have been published .…”

“…In California during 2014, pyrethroids and fipronil were applied heavily, with a large percentage used for structural pest control as follows: 124 000 kg of permethrin with 44.7% for structural pest control; approximately 122 000 kg of bifenthrin with 32.5% for structural pest control; and approximately 36 000 kg each of fipronil, cypermethrin (including [S] cypermethrin), and cyfluthrin (including beta‐cyfluthrin) with 97.6, 56.1, and 76.3%, respectively, for structural pest control . Research has shown that pesticides can be removed from application areas through particles (such as sediment, soil, and dust) and water (such as through irrigation and rain) . These pesticides can migrate into local surface water and sediment and habitats of sensitive aquatic species .…”