TY - JOUR
T1 - Dichlobenil and 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) in the environment
T2 - what are the risks to humans and biota?
AU - Björklund, Erland
AU - Styrishave, Bjarne
AU - Anskjær, Gitte Gotholdt
AU - Hansen, Martin
AU - Halling-Sørensen, Bent
PY - 2011/9/1
Y1 - 2011/9/1
N2 - Dichlobenil is a herbicide widely used for weed control, mainly in non-agricultural areas and in the aquatic environment. When released into the environment, dichlobenil can undergo many processes such as vaporization to air, binding to soil and sediment, as well as degradation to a number of new compounds. The main metabolite is 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) which is water soluble and causes ground water contamination. It is frequently found in levels exceeding maximum allowed concentrations of pesticides and metabolites in ground water (0.1μg/L) set by the European Commission. The environmental distribution of both dichlobenil and BAM was outlined and the risk quotients were calculated for biota and for humans. For organisms living in aquatic habitats, risk quotients were low for both dichlobenil and BAM, approximately 0.02 for dichlobenil and 2.4·10 -4 to 1.3·10 -3 for BAM. For humans, a margin of safety above 15,000 was estimated for dichlobenil. The most unusual and extreme concentration of BAM ever found in ground water is 560μg/L. Even at this concentration, the margin of safety for humans was 313 for a 70 kilo man and 56 for a 25 kilo child. The results clearly demonstrate that the risks to biota and humans are very low.
AB - Dichlobenil is a herbicide widely used for weed control, mainly in non-agricultural areas and in the aquatic environment. When released into the environment, dichlobenil can undergo many processes such as vaporization to air, binding to soil and sediment, as well as degradation to a number of new compounds. The main metabolite is 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) which is water soluble and causes ground water contamination. It is frequently found in levels exceeding maximum allowed concentrations of pesticides and metabolites in ground water (0.1μg/L) set by the European Commission. The environmental distribution of both dichlobenil and BAM was outlined and the risk quotients were calculated for biota and for humans. For organisms living in aquatic habitats, risk quotients were low for both dichlobenil and BAM, approximately 0.02 for dichlobenil and 2.4·10 -4 to 1.3·10 -3 for BAM. For humans, a margin of safety above 15,000 was estimated for dichlobenil. The most unusual and extreme concentration of BAM ever found in ground water is 560μg/L. Even at this concentration, the margin of safety for humans was 313 for a 70 kilo man and 56 for a 25 kilo child. The results clearly demonstrate that the risks to biota and humans are very low.
KW - Former Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.06.004
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.06.004
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 21703663
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 409
SP - 3732
EP - 3739
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
IS - 19
ER -