Abstract
The triazines are a group of chemically similar herbicides including atrazine, cyanazine, and propazine, primarily used to control broadleaf weeds. About 64 to 80 million lbs of atrazine alone are used each year in the United States, making it one of the two most widely used pesticides in the country. All triazines are somewhat persistent in water and mobile in soil. They are among the most frequently detected pesticides in groundwater. They are considered as possible human carcinogens (Group C) based on an increase in mammary gland tumors in female laboratory animals. In this research, we performed the Microtox Assay to investigate the acute toxicity of a significant number of triazines including atrazine, atraton, ametryne, bladex, prometryne, and propazine, and some of their degradation products including atrazine desethyl, atrazine deisopropyl, and didealkyled triazine. Tests were carried out as described by Azur Environmental [1]. The procedure measured the relative acute toxicity of triazines, producing data for the calculation of triazine concentrations effecting 50% reduction in bioluminescence (EC50s). Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) were examined based on the molecular properties obtained from quantum mechanical predictions performed for each compound. Toxicity tests yielded EC50 values of 39.87, 273.20, 226.80, 36.96, 81.86, 82.68, 12.74, 11.80, and 78.50 mg/L for atrazine, propazine, prometryne, atraton, atrazine desethyl, atrazine deisopropyl, didealkylated triazine, ametryne, and bladex, respectively; indicating that ametryne was the most toxic chemical while propazine was the least toxic. QSAR evaluation resulted in a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.86, indicating a good value of toxicity prediction based on the chemical structures/properties of tested triazines.
Highlights
The use of pesticides in agriculture to boost food production is a major factor contributing to the degradation of our environment
Data presented in this table indicate that all the triazine herbicides and their metabolic products exerted significant toxicity to Vibrio fischeri
effecting 50% reduction in bioluminescence (EC50s) values of 39.87, 273.20, 226.80, 36.96, 81.86, 82.68, 12.74, 11.80, and 78.50 mg/L were recorded for atrazine, propazine, prometryne, atraton, atrazine desethyl, atrazine deisopropyl, didealkylated triazine, ametryne, and bladex, respectively; indicating that ametryne was the most toxic chemical while propazine was the least toxic
Summary
The use of pesticides in agriculture to boost food production is a major factor contributing to the degradation of our environment. Atrazine and other triazine herbicides constitute a group of chemically similar compounds used to control certain annual broadleaf weeds and grasses in North America and throughout the world. They are used primarily in corn, and in sorghum, sugarcane, cotton, macadamia orchards, pineapple, asparagus, other crops, and landscape vegetation, to some extent. All the triazine herbicides including atrazine, cyanazine, and propazine may be released into the environment through effluents discharge from manufacturing facilities, and through their use as herbicides They are considered to be somewhat persistent in water, and mobile in soil. Surface water collected from 149 sites in 122 midwestern river basins indicated that 52% of the sites exceeded the United States Environmental 3URWHFWLRQ$JHQF\¶V 86(3$ PD[LPXPFRQWDPLQDQWOHYHO 0&/ RIJ/IRUDWUD]LQH>@
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