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Leaching Potential of Turf Care Pesticides: A Case Study of Long Island Golf Courses |
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| Authors: | Patricia Primi Michael H Surgan PhD Timothy Urban |
| Institution: | Patricia Primi;is an environmental scientist with the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State Department of Law (120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271), where she has been employed since 1987. In addition to her work concerning nonagricultural pesticides, she provides technical support for Bureau litigation and negotiations involving ground and surface water contamination in New York State. She holds a B.S. in geology from Queens College, City University of New York, and is pursuing an M.A. in geology, also at Queens College. Michael H. Surgan;is chief scientist in the New York State Department of Law, Environmental Protection Bureau (120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271). For 14 years he has provided scientific guidance and support for the attorney general's litigation, legislation, and educational initiatives. He has worked on numerous pesticide issues, matters involving ground and surface water protection and remediation, hazardous waste disposal and the health and environmental effects of toxic substances. He earned a B.S. from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts;he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene. Timothy Urban;received a B.S. and M.S. in environmental biology from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and worked as an environmental science aide in the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State Department of Law for three years. |
| Abstract: | Pesticides used to maintain golf course turf can threaten ground water. This concern is particularly important in most of New York's Long Island, where generally sandy soils overlie a sole source aquifer. This study uses two methods to evaluate the potential for pesticides that are commonly used on Long Island's golf courses to leach to ground water. Adapting the Pesticide Root Zone Model (PRZM). Release 1. for dense turf and applying site-specific soil data, certain pesticides, including metalaxyl and trichlorfon, are identified as potential problem leachers. PRZM simulations also identify the Long Island soils, including the sandy Plymouth and Carver soils, which arc most vulnerable to leaching. When adequate input data for PRZM is unavailable, the ground water ubiquity score (GUS) method may be useful. GUS teachability classifications of pesticides commonly applied on Long Island golf courses, and of pesticides actually detected in ground water samples taken on Long Island, agree with PRZM predictions and the field data. The GUS method is applied to the evaluation of the leaching potential of pesticide degradation products (DCPA, maneb, and mancozeb metabolites), and the degradation products are shown to be a greater threat to ground water than their parent compounds. These methods are potentially useful in designing ground water monitoring programs and for guiding the pesticide use and selection decisions of golf course managers. |
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