Studies conducted throughout the nation have documented instances of residential and urban use insecticides in urban waterways exceeding known toxicity and regulatory thresholds for the protection of aquatic life. An improved understanding of the sources and mechanisms by which these compounds reach receiving waters may provide insight into possible mitigation strategies. Impacted urban watersheds are dominated by three principal surface types, impervious hard surfaces, turf grass, and bare or sparsely vegetated soil. Through the use of drop forming rainfall simulators, a number of common pyrethroid containing residential end-use products were applied to concrete, turf grass, and bare soil surfaces and subject to simulated rainfall events under variable rainfall intensity and product application set time.  Wash-off fraction, mean event concentration, and total mass loss were greatest from concrete surfaces, although appreciable losses were also observed from turf and bare soil.

Comparison of pyrethroid insecticide wash-off from urban surfaces

239th National Meeting (2010)

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