Aging effects on the sorption-desorption characteristics of anthropogenic organic compounds in soil.

Field studies have demonstrated that prolonged pesticide-soil contact times (aging) may lead to unexpected persistence of these compounds in the environment. Although this phenomenon is well documented in the field, there have been very few controlled laboratory studies that have tested the effects of long-term aging and the role of differing sorbates on contaminant sorption-desorption behavior and fate in soils. This study examines the sorption-desorption behavior of chlorobenzene, ethylene dibromide (1,2-dibromomethane), atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine), and 2, 4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) on one soil type after 1 d, 30 d, and 14 mo of aging.