Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #77282
Title: ATRAZINE PERSISTENCE AND FATE IN NORTH CENTRAL U.S. SOILS AND FACTORS AFFECTING ITS POTENTIAL FOR GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION

Author
item Koskinen, William
item CLAY, SHARON - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Atrazine movement through the soil root and vadose zones, and into ground water is affected by several soil processes that vary through the soil profile. Transformation and retention (sorption) are two major processes that affect the amount of atrazine present and available for transport through the soil profile. Transformation processes actually reduce or eliminate the amount of atrazine present and available for transport through soil. Atrazine can be degraded partially or completely to inorganic products by chemical, biochemical, and photochemical means. Microbes have the ability to transform atrazine, reducing amounts in soil. Atrazine can volatilize and move into the atmosphere, also reducing soil concentration of atrazine. On the other hand, the sorption process can retain or retard atrazine movement with water. While retention processes do not affect the total amount of atrazine present in soil, retention can decrease or eliminate the amount available for transport. This paper reviews soil factors and processes that impact atrazine movement with emphasis on ground water deposition in the North Central United States. Application and soil management practices that influence the risk of ground water contamination by atrazine are discussed. This paper is not a comprehensive literature review; it focuses on research performed in the North Central United States.

Technical Abstract: Atrazine movement through the soil root and vadose zones, and into ground water is affected by several soil processes that vary through the soil profile. Transformation and retention (sorption) are two major processes that affect the amount of atrazine present and available for transport through the soil profile. Transformation processes actually reduce or eliminate the amount of atrazine present and available for transport through soil. Atrazine can be degraded partially or completely to inorganic products by chemical, biochemical, and photochemical means. Microbes have the ability to transform atrazine, reducing amounts in soil. Atrazine can volatilize and move into the atmosphere, also reducing soil concentration of atrazine. On the other hand, the sorption process can retain or retard atrazine movement with water. While retention processes do not affect the total amount of atrazine present in soil, retention can decrease or eliminate the amount available for transport. This paper reviews soil factors and processes that impact atrazine movement with emphasis on ground water deposition in the North Central United States. Application and soil management practices that influence the risk of ground water contamination by atrazine are discussed. This paper is not a comprehensive literature review; it focuses on research performed in the North Central United States.