Application of the high-performance liquid chromatography-flameless atomic absorption method to the study of alkyl arsenical herbicide metabolism in soil

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 1982-01, Vol.30 (3), p.580-584
• Main Authors: Woolson, Edwin A, Aharonson, Nadav, Iadevaia, Rosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf00111a041

Arsenite, cacodylic acid (CA), methylarsonic acid (MAA), and arsenatein soil extracts were separated on an anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column and detected on a graphite furnace atomic absorption (GFAA) spectrometer. Laboratory soils were treated with CA and amended with 0, 50, or 100 tons/ha of sewage sludge, manure, or hay. In most aerobic soils, 80% of the 10 ppm of As applied as CA was degraded within 60 days. Degradation of ( super(14)C)CA wasfollowed by the formation of arsenate and small amounts of MAA. super(14)C and arsenic were lost from the soil in the form of super(14)CO sub(2) and volatile alkylarsines. CA degradation in flooded anaerobic soils was slower with larger amounts of MAA and less super(14)CO sub(2) formed than found in aerobic soils. CA degradation in soils treated with 1000 ppmof HgCl sub(2) or 100 tons/ha sewage sludge was inhibited. In a field experiment, MAA and CA were detected 1.5 years after MAA, CA, or arsenite was applied, but the major product was arsenate. The half-life forfield-applied CA or MAA was 20 and 22 days, respectively.