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An important concern associated with the environmental assessment of agricultural properties is <br /> the issue of buried pesticide containers. It was an occasional practice to dispose of containers by <br /> this method many years ago. To detect these types of underground artifacts is difficult even with <br /> the use of ground penetrating radar or other types of non-intrusive, subsurface analyses. The <br /> land surface did not exhibit visual indicators for buried containers such as surfacing of product <br /> residue, soil mounding or soil depressions. <br /> The static groundwater is found approximately eight feet under the property. This is considered <br /> a comparatively shallow groundwater elevation. Shallow groundwater can be easily impacted <br /> from pesticides or nitrogen in the form of nitrates. However,the on-site soils consist of a <br /> medium to high clay content soil which can attenuate agrichemical contamination in comparison <br /> to a sandy soil. The groundwater directional flow is probably towards the Tom Paine Slough and <br /> the Delta to the north. <br /> To evaluate agrichemical residues as a nonpoint source of potential contamination, pesticide <br /> records from the previous two years were obtained. The science of pesticide residues in soil, air, <br /> surface water and groundwater is extremely complex and variable. Environmental models which <br /> attempt to predict pesticide behavior and transport in the environment are beyond the scope of <br /> this investigation. It has been clearly evident over the last four decades that the riskibenefit ratio <br /> regarding pesticides has been overwhelming benefit and comparatively low risk to the United <br /> States population, as a whole. <br /> Environmental fate data for the following pesticides which were applied to the subject property <br /> was obtained from the Illustrated Handbook of Physical-Chemical Properties and Environmental <br /> Fate for Organic Pesticide Chemicals: <br /> Dual. Common name: Metachlor. Half lives in the environment: Groundwater: <br /> degradation time 500-1000 days (d). Soil: Half-lives in clay loam are 15-38 d. <br /> Phytolysis: Under optimum exposure conditions to natural sunlight, half life is <br /> approx. 8 d. <br /> Sevin. Common name: Carbaryl. Half-lives in the environment: Air: 12.6 hrs. Surface <br /> water: 3.2-200 hrs. Groundwater: 3.2-1440 hrs. Soil: 97-251 hrs in dry soil, 4458- <br /> 4688 hrs in saturated soil. <br /> Dimethoate. Half-lives in the environment: Air: 0.469-4.69 hrs. Surface water: 264-1344 hrs. <br /> Groundwater: 528-2688 hrs. Soil: 264-888 hrs. <br /> Orthene. Common name: Acephate. Half-lives in the environment: Soil: selected field <br /> half-life of 3.0 d. Hydrolysis: half-life of 60 hrs <br /> 4 <br /> va!!ey Ag Pfsearck <br />