Comparative hazard identification for pesticides: interrelations between physico-chemical properties, tonnages, and occurrences in surface waters

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 1993-01, Vol.Supplement, p.1633-1654
• Main Authors: Altenburger, R, Boedeker, W, Faust, M, Grimme, L H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0048-9697

Information on 274 pesticides in Germany was compiled. The database included water solubility, vapour pressure, Henry's law coefficient, amounts sold and used in agriculture, occurrence in surface water, river bank-filtered water and groundwater. The most precise, best specified and worst case data were employed. The data, of high variability and skewed distribution, were examined by non-parametric statistics. Analyses of medians indicated that large solubility, low vapour pressure and Henry's law coefficients were associated with an increasing likelihood of a compound occurring in water. Predictions were poor, possibly because the amount and quality of the available data were insufficient. However, the amount used was a good parameter to forecast dispersion in the aquatic environment. Registers of both pesticide usage and systematic monitoring studies of residues in surface waters were needed to improve the predictions of exposure assessment. There are 41 references.