ARS | Publication request: Endosulfan wet deposition in Southern Florida

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 15, 2012
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Vegetable and other crops are produced on about 25000 ha. in southern Florida in an area adjacent to Everglades and Biscayne Bay National Parks (NP). High pest pressures require high pesticide use rates. We recently reported that one mechanism for transport of the insecticide endosulfan from treated fields was volatilization after application and movement with prevailing winds to the NPs. Here we describe companion wet deposition measurements. Rain samples were collected continuously for 5 years (2002 to 2006) at sites within the agricultural community of Homestead, Florida and in the NPs. Wet deposition tracked endosulfan atmospheric measurements and seasonal use patterns. The highest deposition, ca. 90 ug m-2 yr-1, was observed within Homestead’s crop-production area with most deposition occurring during winter months when vegetables were grown. At NP stations, wet deposition had the same seasonal pattern but annual rates were about 50-fold less.