Vapor drift occurs following application, when pesticides volatilize from agricultural fields and are transported off-site by the wind. Volatilization can account for up to 99% of pesticide losses from fields, leading to reduced efficacy and unintentional harm to non-target ecosystems. We present a visual screening technique for predicting the volatilization and vapor drift potential of pesticides from bare agricultural soils. A flux approach based on environmentally-relevant partition coefficients and the mass-balance distribution of pesticides between soil, air, and water was used to calculate 24-h cumulative volatilization losses. These were displayed on chemical space diagrams for sets of hypothetical chemicals and used to identify the pesticides and environmental conditions under which the greatest risk of vapor drift occurred. Vapor drift potential increased with increasing temperature and relative humidity and decreased with increasing soil organic carbon content. This approach could be used to aid future decision-making regarding pesticide selection and use.

Modeling the vapor drift potential of current-use pesticides

244th National Meeting (2012)

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