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Biological Significance and Fate of Atrazine under Aquifer Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Glenn R. Wehtje ,
Roy F. Spalding ,
Orvin C. Burnside ,
Stephen R. Lowry  and
J. Robert C. Leavitt
Glenn R. Wehtje
Affiliation:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583
Roy F. Spalding
Affiliation:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583
Orvin C. Burnside
Affiliation:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583
Stephen R. Lowry
Affiliation:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583
J. Robert C. Leavitt
Affiliation:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583
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Abstract

Concentrations of atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] in contaminated groundwater recovered from 41 monitoring wells in Hall and Buffalo counties, Nebraska range from 0.01 to 8.29 μg/L. Over a 1-year period concentrations fluctuated sufficiently in a seasonal pattern to indicate that atrazine dissipation occurs. This reduction in concentration can be attributed to adsorption, dispersion, and degradation. A limited amount of atrazine degraded chemically to hydroxyatrazine [2-hydroxy-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] under simulated aquifer conditions; microbial degradation could not be detected. A geometrical progression model for predicting long term residue accumulation indicates that current contamination levels probably reflect a steady-state situation between the amount that yearly enters into, and the partial degradation that occurs within, the aquifer. Oat (Avena sativa L. ‘Neal’) bioassays indicate that present levels of groundwater contamination remain well below the threshold necessary for phytotoxicity.

Keywords

Zea mays L.herbicide leachingherbicide degradation
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 31 , Issue 5 , September 1983 , pp. 610 - 618
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 Weed Science Society of America 

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