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Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study

Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

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Other Authors: Forbes, Patricia B.C.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Forbes, Patricia B.C.
author_browse Forbes, Patricia B.C.
author_facet Forbes, Patricia B.C.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2016, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:24.731Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53544 Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study Forbes, Patricia B.C. u12259315@tuks.co.za Van der Walt, Etienne Nsibande, Sifiso Albert UCTD Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015. Air dispersion software models that evaluate pesticide spray drift during application have been developed. These models can potentially serve as a cheaper and more convenient alternative to field monitoring campaigns. Such models require validation against field monitoring data in order for them to be employed with confidence, especially when they are used to implement regulatory measures or to evaluate potential human exposure levels. In this project, a pesticide active ingredient, namely atrazine, was used as a tracer to monitor spray drift up to 400 m downwind for comparison and validation of the AGricultural DISPersal (AGDISP) model outputs. Airborne drift samples were collected using high volume air sampling onto polyurethane foam (PUF) at six downwind locations while ground deposition drift was captured with chromatography fallout paper samplers. Additional data, including meteorological information and some application parameters required to simulate spray drift with AGDISP, was collected. Airborne samples were extracted with a plunger method using a hexane:acetone solvent mixture and analysed by Gas Chromatography coupled to a Nitrogen Phosphorus Detector (GC-NPD) which performed well (94.5% recovery, 3.3% RSD and LOD 8.7 pg). Atrazine airborne concentrations ranged from 4.55 ng L-1 adjacent to the field to 186 pg L-1 at 400 m downwind. The experimental results correlated favourably with the modelled output, suggesting that the AGDISP model can be used to provide a good estimate for airborne drift in risk assessment studies or for regulatory purposes. A simple and rapid screening method using a Direct Sample Analyser coupled to a Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (DSA-TOFMS) was employed for semi-quantitation of atrazine deposition. This method was shown to be quick (30 min extraction and 25 s analysis) and useful for the large sample set that was collected. The deposition sample extracts were also analysed by GC-NPD using a method similar to that used for airborne samples. Compared to the AGDISP-simulated deposition output, the model under-predicted the deposition by up to one order of magnitude compared to the GC-NPD results and even more compared to the DSA-TOFMS results. This suggested that the model should be used cautiously for predicting pesticide deposition. For the first time this project has shown the use of a pesticide active ingredient to validate the AGDISP ground application model under local South African conditions up to 400 m downwind of the application area. Chemistry MSc Unrestricted 2016-07-01T10:33:36Z 2016-07-01T10:33:36Z 2016-04-05 2015 Dissertation Nsibande, SA 2016, Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study, MSc Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53544> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53544 en © 2016, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study
title Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study
title_full Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study
title_fullStr Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study
title_full_unstemmed Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study
title_short Pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models : a South African atrazine case study
title_sort pesticide spray drift monitoring in the evaluation of air dispersion models a south african atrazine case study
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53544