Predicting the Environmental Distribution of Compounds with Unknown Physicochemical Properties from Known Pesticide Properties

Disposing of pesticides improperly can have environmental consequences. This study examines those properties discussed in published literature or derived from semiempirical mathematical models that are most likely to affect pesticides' environmental distribution, then assesses their migration between environmental media (soil, water, air, and biota). In particular, it examines how pesticide characteristics such as water solubility, molecular weight, bioconcentration, volatility, and soil adsorption affect soil-to-water mobility, water-to-air dissipation, and water-to-biota accumulation when present in the environmental medium of preferred residence. The study concludes that chemicals that have low water solubilities tend to adsorb to soil, those that have low vapor pressures tend to dissipate slowly from water, and those that have relatively high octanol-to-water partition coefficients or low water solubility have a high potential for bioconcentration. Under these situations, environmental restoration might best be achieved by removal of the contamination at the source. By drawing analogies from these findings, researchers should be able to predict the mobility of pesticides belonging to a particular category or family of compounds with unknown physicochemical properties, determine the harm that might result from their distribution under worst-case scenarios, and recommend ways to restore the environment. Received