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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #202579

Title: Waste Foundry Sand Soil Amendment to Reduce Atrazine Loading to Surface Runoff

Author
item Pappas, Elizabeth
item LEE, B - PURDUE UNIVERSITY
item Dungan, Robert - Rob
item DEKOFF, J - PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2006
Publication Date: 11/12/2006
Citation: Pappas, E.A., Lee, B., Dungan, R.S., Dekoff, J. 2006. Waste Foundry Sand Soil Amendment to Reduce Atrazine Loading to Surface Runoff. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts. November 12-16, 2006. Indianapolis, IN. CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the potential for surface applied foundry sand (FS) waste material to reduce atrazine in runoff water from fields having atrazine-based weed management. In the first experiment, the ability of several FSs to remove atrazine from the water column was evaluated. One-hundred mL of water having atrazine levels of 10 'g/L and 100 'g/L was exposed to 10 g of unamended soil (Blount silt loam), 50% soil / 50% FS, and 100% FS by shaking for 24 hours, and analyzed for atrazine by GC-MS. Results indicated that a calcium bentonite-coated waste foundry sand (Ca-FS) reduced atrazine in the water column by 68% as compared to soil. Atrazine levels in water were reduced by 60% using 50% Ca-FS. A laboratory rainfall simulation was then conducted on unamended soil and soil having surface-applied Ca-FS at 2000 kg/ha and 6000 kg/ha. Rainfall was applied at 50 mm/hr for 50 minutes, and then 75 mm/hr, 25 mm/hr, and 100 mm/hr for 15 minutes each to 0.2 m x 1 m soil boxes. Runoff was collected and analyzed for atrazine by GC-MS. Results indicated that atrazine levels in runoff from soil amended with Ca-FS were 30-37% lower than from unamended soil, regardless of application rate or rainfall rate. A similar field rainfall simulation was performed on 1 m x 2 m atrazine-treated corn plots having unamended soil, and soil with Ca-FS surface applied at 4000 kg/ha, under two different tillage systems. Results of this study will be presented.