Diffusion and Analysis of Carbon‐14 Labeled Dieldrin in Soils

Abstract

AbstractLiquid scintillation techniques were used in developing a rapid method for the analysis of carbon‐14 labeled dieldrin in soils. Treated soil samples up to 1 g in weight were added to 20‐ml liquid scintillation counting vials and the labeled dieldrin extracted into the toluene counting media. The diffusion coefficient of dieldrin was measured in soils of varying texture and relative humidity at 20C in transient state systems. At 53% relative humidity the diffusion coefficient in eight soils varied between 0.049 and 0.36 mm2/week. No correlation was found between soil texture and the diffusion coefficient. The diffusion coefficient in three soils varied between 0.40 and 0.64 mm2/week at 75% relative humidity and between 3.8 and 9.7 mm2/week at 94% relative humidity. At the higher humidity, the diffusion coefficient increased with increasing clay content.