Pesticides on residential outdoor surfaces: environmental impacts and aquatic toxicity

BACKGROUND: Pesticides are routinely applied to residential impervious outdoor surfaces for structural pest control. This residential usage has been linked to the occurrence of toxic levels of pesticides in urban water bodies. It is believed that run‐off water transports particles that have sorbed h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pest management science 2016-07, Vol.72 (7), p.1411-1420
Main Authors: Jiang, Weiying, Luo, Yuzhou, Conkle, Jeremy L, Li, Juying, Gan, Jay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental Exposure - analysis
Environmental impact
Hyalella azteca
impervious surface
particle
pesticide
Pesticides
Pesticides - adverse effects
Pesticides - analysis
Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data
residential
run-off
Runoff
Toxicity
Water Pollutants, Chemical - adverse effects
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Pesticides are routinely applied to residential impervious outdoor surfaces for structural pest control. This residential usage has been linked to the occurrence of toxic levels of pesticides in urban water bodies. It is believed that run‐off water transports particles that have sorbed hydrophobic pesticides. However, concentrations of particle‐bound pesticides have not been directly measured on impervious surfaces, and the role of these particles as a source of contamination is unknown. RESULTS: Pesticides were detected in 99.4% of samples, with >75% of samples containing at least five pesticides. Assuming all particles were transferred with run‐off, the run‐off amount of pesticide during each rainfall would be >5 mg. We also used the US EPA Storm Water Management Model and estimated that 43 and 65% of the pesticides would be washed off during two rainfall events, with run‐off concentrations ranging from 10.0 to 54.6 ng L⁻¹ and from 13.3 to 109.1 ng L⁻¹ respectively. The model‐predicted pesticide run‐off concentrations were similar to the levels monitored in urban run‐off and sediments. Most (78%) particle samples contained aggregate toxicities above the Hyalella azteca LC₅₀. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that loose particles on residential impervious surfaces are not only carriers but also an important source of hydrophobic pesticides in urban run‐off and contribute to downstream aquatic toxicities. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
ISSN:1526-498X
1526-4998
DOI:10.1002/ps.4168