19th Annual Student Research Conference
Science
Bioavailability of Pesticides in Soil
Angela R. Soemo* and Heather L. Young
Dr. Barbara K. Kramer, Faculty Mentor
Understanding the bioavailability of DDT in soil helps determine if the pesticides that reside in the soil may be harmful. The physiologically based extraction test (PBET) has been shown to accurately find the bioavailability of lead and arsenic in soil, and may also be used for organic contaminants. The PBET is a time intensive test that requires a considerable amount of training for the user. Previous research has shown that aqueous-based microwave assisted extraction can be used to determine qualitatively similar, but always lower, concentrations of DDT in soil as PBET. This suggests that an organic component of the extraction is missing. By varying parameters of pH, organic solvent, and extraction time and using a statistical evolutionary procedure to analyze the parameters, it was found that acidic conditions, a longer extraction time and the addition of an organic solvent are necessary to obtain statistically equivalent results.
Keywords: pesticides, enivronmental, PBET, microwave extraction, DDT, SPE
Topic(s):Chemistry
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 60-68
Location: OP Lobby and Atrium
Time: 4:15