Abstract
The fate of atrazine in sediment sampled from two agricultural watersheds in the Great Lakes basin of southern Ontario was studied in laboratory flask incubations of sediment slurry and enrichment cultures. Atrazine at an initial concentration of 10 mg/L disappeared within 15 d in sediment slurries incubated aerobically at 30°C. Because atrazine concentrations were stable in similarly incubated autoclaved slurry and the lag preceding atrazine degradation was abolished by repeated atrazine additions, it was concluded that the herbicide was biodegraded. Rapid atrazine degradation was found in concentrated suspended particulates and surface (0 to 10 cm) sediments, but not in sediments taken from a depth of 20 cm. Atrazine was not degraded under anaerobic or denitrifying conditions. Sediment and enrichment cultures converted [U-ring-14C]-labeled atrazine to hydrophilic metabolites, tentatively identified as cyanuric acid and urea, and then to carbon dioxide.
Published Version
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