Estimating the pollution potential of pesticides to ground water [Western Australia].
1994
Kookana R.S. | Aylmore L.A.G.
A screening model available in the literature was used to evaluate the ground water pollution potential of a number of commonly used pesticides under irrigated horticulture in Bassendean sand of the Swan Coastal Plain of Western Australia. A modified version of the model was developed to take into account the generally decreasing organic matter contents with depth in the soil profile. Residual masses and travel times of 40 pesticides were calculated by the model using sorption and degradation data available from the literature. The calculations based on the constant OM mode predicted that for a recharge rate of 0.5 m per yr, some 14 of the pesticides were likely to reach ground water at appreciable levels of the residue. The number increased to 21 and was accompanied by a decrease in the travel times required for the pesticides to reach ground water when the decreasing organic matter contents of the profile with depth were taken into consideration. For some pesticides measured on local soil, the predictions based on literature values were significantly different from those based on measured parameters indicating, as expected, that overseas data may not always represent local conditions.
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