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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 247 pp 147–196Cite as

Pesticides and Related Toxicants in the Atmosphere

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Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 247))

Abstract

Pesticides and other toxicants released into the environment can contaminate air, water, soil, and biota. This review focuses on sources, exposures, fate, analysis, and trends. The potential for exposures due to atmospheric transport and deposition of pesticides and related contaminants may pose risks to humans and wildlife. Emissions of chemicals to air are related to physicochemical properties (e.g., vapor pressure and chemical stability). Experimental design and computer-based modeling, as related to emissions and dispersion of pesticides along transects downwind from release sources, will be discussed using the example of pesticide volatilization and drift in California agriculture that results in the transport and deposition downwind to the Sierra Nevada mountains, where much work has been done to refine exposure data for use in risk assessment and management. Predictably, those chemicals found frequently in air are those used most extensively, have multiple emission sources, and resist degradation. Yet to be determined are definitive connections with adverse impacts to humans and wildlife, although the accumulating evidence suggests that endocrine disrupting chemicals, ChE inhibitors, and others warrant further attention. Steps that are being taken to limit emissions, such as in pest control and fuel combustion, offer promising opportunities for improving the quality of air and of the overall environment. Chemical degradation rates and products from trace organics in the air merit more attention, as do the potential for activation by photooxidation and bioaccumulation in food chains. The potential effect of climate change, on atmospheric processes affecting contaminant behavior, is an area ripe for further study.

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Abbreviations

ACGIH:

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

BCF:

Bio-concentration factor

California DPR:

California Department of Pesticide Regulation

CARB:

California Air Resources Board

CCD:

Colony collapse disorder

CFCs:

Chlorofluorocarbons

DBCP:

Dibromochloropropane

DDE:

Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene

DDT:

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

EDB:

Ethylene dibromide

EF:

Enrichment factor

EPA:

Environmental Protection Agency

EPTC:

S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate

EU:

European Union

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

HAPs:

Hazardous air pollutants

HCFC:

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons

LRT:

Long-range transport

MCPA:

2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid

MIC:

Methyl isocyanate

MITC:

Methyl isothiocyanate

NCEI/NOAA:

National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NIOSH:

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

NWF/NWS:

National Wildlife Federation/National Weather Service

OC:

Organochlorine

ODP:

Ozone depletion potential

OEHHA:

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

OP:

Organophosphates

OSHA:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PAH:

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

PAN:

Peroxyacetyl nitrates

PCBs:

Polychlorinated biphenyls

PCDD:

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins

PM:

Particulate matter

POPs:

Persistent organic pollutants

SVOCs:

Semi-volatile organic compounds

TACs:

Toxic air contaminants

TCDD:

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

TFA:

Trifluoroacetic acid

UNEP:

United Nations Environment Programme

USDA-ARS:

US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service

USGS:

US Geological Survey

VOCs:

Volatile organic compounds

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgments

We express our thanks to the dozens of staff and students with whom we have worked in a number of studies through the years. The various institutions represented were the University of California, Davis, the University of Nevada, Reno, USDA-ARS, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. We appreciate the insights that staff and students have brought to these efforts and their perseverance and hard work in conducting often-difficult laboratory and fieldwork studies essential to understanding the subject of pesticides and other chemical contaminants in air.

Special recognition is given to the contributions of our valued collaborators Dwight Glotfelty (1944–1990) and Michael Majewski (1953–2016) who contributed so much to the understanding of pesticides in the air. Both passed away at relatively young ages in the prime of their research careers.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA

    James E. Woodrow

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Kate A. Gibson

  3. Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    James N. Seiber

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Correspondence to James N. Seiber .

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Glossary

ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists)

To encourage the interchange of experience among industrial hygiene workers and collect accessible information to aid them in fulfilling their duties.

Cal EPA (California Environmental Protection Agency)

Restore, protect, and enhance the environment to ensure public health and environmental quality by enforcing laws to regulate air, water, and soil quality and reducing pesticide usage and waste.

California DPR

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) works to improve human health and the environment by regulating pesticide sales and use by fostering reduced-risk pest management. http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/dept/factshts/main2.pdf.

CARB (California Air Resources Board)

Promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through reduction of air pollutants while considering the effects on the state’s economy.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

To protect human health and the environment by ensuring federal laws for protection, reducing environmental and human health risks, making sustainable communities, and working with nations to protect the global environment.

EU (European Union)

Promote human rights internally and nationally by following core values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

FDA (Food and Drug Administration)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, US food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/default.htm.

NWF/NWS (National Wildlife Federation)/(National Weather Service)

Protecting wildlife and habitat while inspiring future generations of conservationists. Provide weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings for the protection of life, and property and enhancement of the national economy.

OEHHA (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment)

Protect the environment and enhance public health by scientific evaluation of risks from hazardous substances.

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

To ensure safe and healthful working conditions for men and women by enforcing standards and provide training, education, and assistance.

Prop 65 (Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986)

Protect California citizens and the state’s drinking water sources from chemicals that could cause health and reproductive harm and inform citizens about exposure to those chemicals.

UNEP (United Nations Environment Program)

Promotes implementation of sustainable development in the environment within the United Nations system and serves as an advocate for the environment.

USDA-ARS (United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service)

A research agency finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans from field to table. They provide information access to ensure safety of food, enhance resources, assess nutritional needs of Americans, and sustain an agricultural economy.

USGS (United States Geological Survey)

Provides information on the health of the environment, threats from natural hazards, natural resources people rely on, and impacts of climate change to provide useable and relevant information.

WHO (World Health Organization)

Direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations’ system, supporting countries to support national health policy and strategies.

Aerosols

Extremely small particles suspended in the atmosphere that scatter and absorb sunlight when sufficiently large. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Aerosols.html.

Atmosphere

The gaseous envelope surrounding the earth that consists of nitrogen (78.1% volume mixing ratio), oxygen (20.9% volume mixing ratio), and traces of other gases such as argon, helium, carbon dioxide (0.035% volume mixing ratio), and ozone. The atmosphere also contains water vapor (~1% volume mixing ratio), clouds, and fog (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html).

Clouds and fog

A cloud is a visible mass of particles of condensed vapor suspended in the atmosphere of a planet or moon. Fog is a cloud at low elevation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloud).

HAPs

Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), also known as toxic air pollutants, are those that cause or may cause serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, endocrine disruption, and other adverse environmental and ecological effects. http://www.epa.gov/ttnatw01/pollsour.html.

Human exposure

Human exposure to toxic chemicals occurs via inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact exposure, combined with potency, is used to estimate “risk”.

Long-range transport

Long-range transport of air pollutants refers to the atmospheric transport of air pollutants within a moving air mass for a distance greater than 100 km. http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=1558.

Particulate matter

A complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up of acids such as nitrates and sulfates, organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. http://www.epa.gov/pm/.

Pheromones

Chemicals released by an organism into its environment enabling it to communicate with other members of its own species (http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Pheromones.html).

Sampling efficiency

The ratio of the measured mean concentration to that in the free-stream air. EPA/600/R-12/646 |, October 2012 |. www.epa.gov/ord.

Semiochemicals

Chemicals that mediate interactions between organisms. Semiochemicals are subdivided into allelochemicals and pheromones depending on whether the interaction is interspecific or intraspecific, respectively (http://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/flint.htm).

Stratosphere

The region of the atmosphere between the troposphere and the mesosphere. Ranges from around 8 km at the poles, or 15 km at the equator, to about 50 km. The temperature in the lower stratosphere can change due to latitude and season, but, in the upper stratosphere, temperature generally increases with height due to absorption of solar radiation by ozone (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html#S).

SVOCs

Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are a group of compounds that include pesticides, cleaning agents, personal care products, and additives. These organic molecules are abundant in the gas and condensed phases, represented by vapor pressures between 10−5 and 0.1 Pa. Higher-vapor pressures greater than about 0.1 Pa favor vapor phase, while vapor pressures below about 10−5 Pa tend to favor the particulate phase. This distribution between particulate and vapor phase is affected by temperature and the amount of background PM in the air, among other factors, and is important in regards to chemical reactivity, deposition, and exposure. https://bcgc.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Semivolatile%2BOrganic%2BCompounds.pdf.

TACs

Toxic air contaminants (TACs), also referred to as toxic air pollutants or hazardous air pollutants, are airborne pollutants that may be expected to result in an increase in mortality or serious illness or which pose a present or potential hazard to human health. http://www.airquality.org/ceqa/cequguideupdate/Ch5TACFinal.pdf.

Troposphere

The lowest part of the atmosphere from the surface to about 9 km in the high latitudes to 16 km in the tropics. This is where clouds and weather generally occur (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html#T).

Vapors

A substance in the gaseous state as distinguished from the liquid or solid state. Also includes diffused matter that is suspended in air and impairing its transparency (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vapor).

VOCs

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from some solids and liquids including paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials, office equipment, and permanent markers. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html.

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Woodrow, J.E., Gibson, K.A., Seiber, J.N. (2018). Pesticides and Related Toxicants in the Atmosphere. In: de Voogt, P. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 247. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 247. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/398_2018_19

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