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Title: Bioremediation strategies for pesticide-contaminated sites

Conference ·
OSTI ID:214559
; ;  [1]
  1. Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States); and others

As the number of pesticide-contaminated sites at places such as agrochemical dealerships continues to grow there is an urgent need to find methods of remediation. Soils from two pesticide-contaminated sites, Alpha and Bravo, were analyzed using gas chromatography. The contaminants and their concentrations ({mu}g/g) were as follows: atrazine (0.1 to 24), metolachlor (2 to 121), trifluralin (1 to 244), and pendimethalin (5 to 334). A radiotracer study was conducted to determine the fate of a combined application of atrazine and metolachlor at a concentration of 50 {mu}g/g each. The mixture was applied to Alpha and Bravo nonvegetated soils and Kochia scoparia rhizosphere soils. After 30 d incubation in Bravo soil, mineralization of metolachlor was minimal with less than 1% recovered as {sup 14}CO{sub 2}. Metolachlor degradation in the rhizosphere soil was greater than in nonvegetated soils with 56% and 100% of metolachlor remaining, respectively, after 30 d. Atrazine mineralization was as high as 62% of the applied {sup 14}C. Additional soil from Bravo was treated with 50 {mu}g/g of unlabeled atrazine. The soil was divided into three treatments and a control with three replicates each. Each treatment involved inoculation of 100 g of Bravo soil with 2 g from one of three soils determined in our laboratory to have enhanced atrazine degradative capabilities. Soils were incubated for 15 or 35 d. The soils will be analyzed by gas chromatography to determine which, if any, of the inoculants increase the degradation of atrazine.

OSTI ID:
214559
Report Number(s):
CONF-950801-; TRN: 96:000922-0026
Resource Relation:
Conference: 210. national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Chicago, IL (United States), 20-25 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of 210th ACS national meeting. Part 1 and 2; PB: 1866 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English