Degradation and leaching of fluroxypyr after application to railway tracks

Environmental fate of glyphosate used on Swedish railways - Results from environmental monitoring conducted between 2007-2010 and 2015-2019

Glyphosate herbicides are widely relied upon by European railway operators for controlling vegetation growing on railway tracks. In Sweden, concentrations of glyphosate and its main degradation product AMPA have been monitored in the groundwater close to railways during two monitoring periods: between 2007-2010 and 2015-2019. In total, 603 groundwater samples from 12 different monitoring sites and 645 soil samples from 5 of these sites were analyzed. Glyphosate and AMPA were detected in 16% and 14%, respectively, of groundwater samples taken from directly beneath the track, with concentrations exceeding the EU groundwater quality standard of 0.1 μg/L in 6 and 4% of the cases, respectively. The highest concentrations detected in single samples were 7 μg glyphosate/L and 1.1 μg AMPA/L. However, further horizontal spread in the groundwater zone appeared to be limited as glyphosate and AMPA were only detected in 1-3% of the groundwater samples taken from outside the track area itself, and since no difference was seen between water from reference and down-gradient wells. In the autumn of 2018, higher concentrations were detected in the groundwater from beneath 3 out of the 5 then active monitoring sites and a possible explanation is that the unusually hot and dry summer of 2018 limited degradation, thus leading to an increased susceptibility of leaching. The contents of glyphosate and AMPA in soil samples from three of the sites were very low (average < 0.05 mg/kg in soil from 0 to 30 cm), indicating that they were only sprayed to a limited degree, whereas the contents from two of the test sites were in line with what would be expected based on the used dose and a predicted half-life of about 4 ± 2 months (average 0.22-0.84 mg/kg). No signs of accumulation of glyphosate in the railway ballast over time were observed.

Hot foam for weed control-Do alkyl polyglucoside surfactants used as foaming agents affect the mobility of organic contaminants in soil?

Use of alkyl polyglucosides (APGs) as a foaming agent during hot water weed control may influence the environmental fate of organic contaminants in soil. We studied the effects of the APG-based foaming agent NCC Spuma (C8-C10) on leaching of diuron, glyphosate, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sand columns. We also examined how APG concentration affected the apparent water solubility and adsorption of the herbicides and of the PAHs acenaphthene, acenaphthylene and fluorene. Application of APGs at the recommended concentration of 0.3% did not significantly affect leaching of any of the compounds studied. However, at a concentration of 1.5%, leaching of both diuron and glyphosate was significantly increased. The increased leaching corresponded to an increase in apparent water solubility of diuron and a decrease in glyphosate adsorption to the sand. However, APG addition did not significantly affect the mobility of PAHs even though their apparent water solubility was increased. These results suggest that application of APG-based foam during hot water weed control does not significantly affect the mobility of organic contaminants in soil if used according to recommendations. Moreover, they suggest that APGs could be useful for soil bioremediation purposes if higher concentrations are used.

Solid-state UV-MALDI mass spectrometric quantitation of fluroxypyr and triclopyr in soil

The work presented here refers firstly to solid-state UV-MALDI-Orbitrap-mass spectrometric analysis of fluroxypyr (A) and triclopyr (B) in soils under laboratory conditions. The experimental design has involved the following: (a) determination of analytes A and B in polycrystalline composites of organic materials 1-7, based on 2-piperidine (pyrrolidine or piperazine)-1-yl-ethyl ammonium salts in order to determine the effect of sample preparation techniques on method performance using commercial herbicide formulations and (b) analysis of non-(X j,k,l (i) ) and sterilized (Y j,k,l (i) ) soil samples (i-fold rate 1, 10, 100, or 1,000; j-pesticide type A or B; k-time (0, 5, 10, 20, and 50 days) and l = 1-3 replicated samples) having clay content ∈ 5.0-12.0 %, silt ∈ 23.0-51.1 %, sand ∈ 7.2-72.0 %, and pH ∈ 4.0-8.1. In order to obtain a high representativeness of the data toward real-field experiments, the pollution scheme has involved 1-, 10-, 100-, and 1,000-fold rates. The firstfold rate has concentration of pollutant A of 2.639 × 10(-4) g in 625 cm(2) soil horizon of 0-25 cm(2) (5 cm depth) according to registration report (PSM-Zulassungbericht) of German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit) 6337/26.10.2009. The experimental design has involved quincunx systematic statistical approach for collection of soil samples. The performance has been compared with the corresponding statistical variable obtained, using an independent HPLC-ESI-(APCI-)-MS/MS analysis.

Reduced leaching of the herbicide MCPA after bioaugmentation with a formulated and stored Sphingobium sp

The use of pesticides on sandy soils and on many non-agricultural areas entails a potentially high risk of water contamination. This study examined leaching of the herbicide 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) after bioaugmentation in sand with differently formulated and stored Sphingobium sp. T51 and at different soil moisture contents. Dry formulations of Sphingobium sp. T51 were achieved by either freeze drying or fluidised bed drying, with high initial cell viability of 67-85 %. Storage stability of T51 cells was related to formulation excipient/carrier and storage conditions. Bacterial viability in the fluidised bed-dried formulations stored at 25 °C under non-vacuum conditions was poor, with losses of at least 97 % within a month. The freeze-dried formulations could be stored substantially longer, with cell survival rates of 50 %, after 6 months of storage at the same temperature under partial vacuum. Formulated and long-term stored Sphingobium cells maintained their MCPA degradation efficacy and reduced MCPA leaching as efficiently as freshly cultivated cells, by at least 73 % when equal amounts of viable cells were used. The importance of soil moisture for practical field bioaugmentation techniques is discussed.