HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lentz, R. D. Articles by Koehn, A. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lentz, R. D. Articles by Koehn, A. C. Agricola Articles by Lentz, R. D. Articles by Koehn, A. C. Related Collections Water Quality Other Contaminants Preferential Flow Models Organic Compounds Irrigation

TECHNICAL REPORTS

Vadose Zone Processes and Chemical Transport

Acrylamide Monomer Leaching from Polyacrylamide-Treated Irrigation Furrows

^a USDA-ARS, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Lab., 3793 N 3600 E, Kimberly, ID 83341
^b CYTEC Research and Development, 1937 W. Main, Stamford, CT 06904

^* Corresponding author (rick.lentz{at}ars.usda.gov).

Received for publication October 30, 2007. Water-soluble anionic polyacrylamide (WSPAM), which is used to reduce erosion in furrow irrigated fields and other agriculture applications, contains less than 0.05% acrylamide monomer (AMD). Acrylamide monomer, a potent neurotoxicant and suspected carcinogen, is readily dissolved and transported in flowing water. The study quantified AMD leaching losses from a WSPAM-treated corn (Zea mays L.) field using continuous extraction-walled percolation samplers buried at 1.2 m depth. The samplers were placed 30 and 150 m from the inflow source along a 180-m-long corn field. The field was furrow irrigated using WSPAM at the rate of 10 mg L^–1 during furrow advance. Percolation water and furrow inflows were monitored for AMD during and after three furrow irrigations. The samples were analyzed for AMD using a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron-capture detector. Furrow inflows contained an average AMD concentration of 5.5 µg L^–1. The AMD in percolation water samples never exceeded the minimum detection limit and the de facto potable water standard of 0.5 µg L^–1. The risk that ground water beneath these WSPAM-treated furrow irrigated soils will be contaminated with AMD appears minimal.

Abbreviations: AMD, acrylamide monomer • WSPAM, water-soluble polyacrylamide