Minimizing the Potential for Groundwater Contamination from Agricultural Point Sources

An activated charcoal filtration unit was designed to remove pesticides from leftover pesticide solutions and rinsates generated under farm-like conditions. The system, fabricated for less than $1400 using readily available components, effectively removed the pesticides atrazine, benomyl, carbaryl, fluometuron, metolachlor, and trifluralin from wastewater generated on the University of Arkansas Agronomy Farm located in Fayetteville, AR. A total of 2253 L of wastewater were treated using the system. Of these 1768 L were generated from washing out the spray tank (rinsates) while 485 L stemmed from leftover pesticide solutions that were mixed, but not applied. Typical initial pesticide concentrations in the wastewater were on the order of 500 to 1000 parts per million (ppm). The final pesticide concentrations remaining after charcoal filtration were generally less than 10 ppm. Approximately 1514 L of wastewater was treated with 23 kg of charcoal before the charcoal was replaced. This resulted in an estimated pesticide loading rate on the charcoal of 0.05 to 0.10 kg pesticide active ingredient per kg activated charcoal. Incubation of alachlor-treated charcoal with a mixed culture of microorganisms resulted in approximately a 30% loss of alachlor after 21 d. These results suggest that on-site degradation of spent charcoal may be a feasible alternative to incineration, however more research is needed to fully determine its potential. A reduced adsorption of methylene blue dye with increasing amounts of trifluralin sorbed to charcoal occurred. Activated charcoal treated with 222 mg/g trifluralin sorbed only 19% of the amount sorbed by the control with no trifluralin present. These results suggest that methylene blue or other dyes might be used to indicate the remaining adsorptive capacity of a charcoal used for removing pesticides from wastewater

Determining Pesticide and Nitrate Levels in Spring Water in Northwest Arkansas

Occurrences of pesticides in our nations ground water are on the rise. As states become aware of this problem and begin monitoring programs, incidence of contamination will probably increase. Since the problem of pesticides in groundwater is relatively new, little research has centered on the fate of pesticides after they reach the groundwater environment. In Northwest Arkansas efforts to monitor groundwater for pesticides have been small. Twenty-five springs in Northwest Arkansas were sampled in the fall of 1988, and spring of 1989. Analysis for atrazine, alachlor, metolachlor, diuron, and simazine in spring water was preformed using gas liquid chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. No detectable residues of any of the selected pesticides were found. Northwest Arkansas is a leader in poultry production. Much of the manure from poultry houses is spread on the sourounding pastures. As this litter decomposes nitrates and phosphates are released. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations were also determined on water from the spring samples. No spring exceeded the EPA\u27s limit of 45 mg/L for nitrate in drinking water. The highest concentration for phosphate in any spring was 1.05 mg/L

ANALYSIS OF THE ALLELOPATHIC POTENTIAL OF RICE USING K-MEANS CLUSTERING OF HPLC CHROMATOGRAMS

Allelopathy is the ability of an organism to affect the growth of another organism through the introduction of chemical compounds into the environment. Several researchers have reported rice inhibition of the growth of weed species such as barnyard grass and ducksalad. The objective of this study was to relate patterns found in HPLC chromatograms for leaf extracts of different rice accessions to their weed control activity. K-means cluster analysis was performed on 20 peak heights from chromatograms from 40 rice accessions. The resulting clusters corresponded to observed behavior of the accessions reported in other sources. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to determine if the number of peaks needed to separate accession types could be reduced

Mixing of Isotactic and Syndiotactic Polypropylenes in the Melt

The miscibility of polypropylene (PP) melts in which the chains differ only in stereochemical composition has been investigated by two different procedures. One approach used detailed local information from a Monte Carlo simulation of a single chain, and the other approach takes this information from a rotational isomeric state model devised decades ago, for another purpose. The first approach uses PRISM theory to deduce the intermolecular packing in the polymer blend, while the second approach uses a Monte Carlo simulation of a coarse-grained representation of independent chains, expressed on a high-coordination lattice. Both approaches find a positive energy change upon mixing isotactic PP (iPP) and syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) chains in the melt. This conclusion is qualitatively consistent with observations published recently by Muelhaupt and coworkers. The size of the energy chain on mixing is smaller in the MC/PRISM approach than in the RIS/MC simulation, with the smaller energy change being in better agreement with the experiment. The RIS/MC simulation finds no demixing for iPP and atactic polypropylene (aPP) in the melt, consistent with several experimental observations in the literature. The demixing of the iPP/sPP blend may arise from attractive interactions in the sPP melt that are disrupted when the sPP chains are diluted with aPP or iPP chains

Residual Fluometuron Levels in Three Arkansas Soils under Continuous Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) Production

Evidence has shown that fluometuron {N,N- dimethyl-N\u27- [3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyll urea} persists be- yond the end of the growing season when used in continuous cotton (Gossypium birsutum L.) production. Samples were taken from three soils following cotton production in 1980, 1981, and 1982. All three soils had been in production under the same herbicide use regime, fluometuron preemergence followed by fluometuron plus MSMA (monosodium methane- arsonate), since either 1976 or 1977. The fluometuron remaining in each soil was quantified using a greenhouse bioassay and a chemical extraction technique followed by high-performance liquid chromatography determinations. The fluometuron concentrations determined by bioassay and chemical extraction methods had partial correlation coefficients of 0.62, 0.91, and 0.72 for a Sharkey silty clay, a Dundee silt loam, and a Loring silt loam, respectively. Predictive equations were determined for each soil to relate chemical extraction findings to plant response. Bioassay analysis indicated nearly 2 ppmw of fluometuron in the Sharkey silty clay in October 1980, with 1 ppmw in the Dundee silt loam, and approximately 0.27 ppmw in the Loring silt loam with annual application rates of 4.0, 2.9, and 3.5 kg/ha, respectively. Fluometuron concentrations as determined by chemical analysis were 0.83, 0.34, and 0.14 ppmw, respectively. Fluometuron concentrations declined over the winter in all three soils. Samples taken in March of 1981, 1982, and 1983 showed little difference in carryover levels in the Sharkey silty clay but more yearly variation in the other two soils. Fluometuron was found in all three soils to depths of 60 cm, but more than 55% of the fluometuron was found in the upper 15 cm of each soil. A controlled laboratory study conducted with the three soils showed that both cold and dry conditions reduced fluometuron dissipation rates. In the laboratory under conditions favorable for dissipation, fluometuron had a half- life of 26 days in the Dundee silt loam, 43 days in the Loring silt loam, and 73 days in the Sharkey silty clay. In the field, dissipation was very rapid in the Loring silt loam compared to the Dundee silt loam and the Sharkey silty cla

Investigation of geothermal potential in the Waianae caldera area, Western Oahu, Hawaii

"Studies of Lualualei Valley, Oahu have been conducted to determine whether a thermal anomaly exists in the area and, if so, to identify sites at which subsurface techniques should be utilized to characterize the resource. Geologic mapping identifies several caldera and rift zone structures in the Valley and provides a tentative outline of their boundaries. Clay mineralogy studies indicate that minor geothermal alteration of near-surface rocks has occurred at some period in the history of the area. Schlumberger resistivity soundings indicate the presence of a low resistivity layer beneath the valley floor, which has been tentatively attributed to warm water-saturated basalt. Soil and groundwater chemistry studies outline several geochemical anomalies around the perimeter and within the inferred caldera boundaries. The observed anomalies strongly suggest a subsurface heat source. Recommendations for further exploratory work to confirm the presence of a geothermal reservoir include more intensive ·surveys in a few selected areas of the valley as well as the drilling of at least three shallow (1000-m) holes for subsurface geochemical, geological and geophysical studies.""Prepared for Western States Cooperative Direct Heat Resource Assessment."Contents: Geology of Oahu and Waianae Volcano / Malcolm E. Cox and Donald M. Thomas -- Detailed geological mapping / John M. Sinton -- Mineral assemblages of basalt and soil samples / Donald M. Helstern and Pow-foong Fan -- Summary of regional geophysics / Malcolm E. Cox -- Geoelectric surveys / Mark D. Mattice and James P. Kauahikaua -- Geochemical surveys / Malcolm E. Cox and Donald M. ThomasBibliography: pages 73-76.U.S. Department of Energy grant no. DOE/ID/01713-