U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
Online published on 15 December, 2011.
The volatilization of pesticides from soil is reviewed from the standpoint of the magnitude of volatilization losses, mechanisms involved, factors influencing volatilization rates, and progress in developing prediction models. The volatilization of soil incorporated pesticides is controlled by their rate of movement away from the surface, their effective vapor pressure at the surface or within the soil, and their rate of movement through the soil to the vaporizing surface. The use of a model for classifying and screening pesticides for their environmental behavior based on their physical and chemical properties is demonstrated and data on volatilization rates are compared with predictions from the model.
