Ozonolysis of Permethrin in the Atmosphere: Mechanism, Kinetics, and Evaluation of Toxicity

Pyrethroid, a pesticide widely used worldwide, could mimic, block, or synergize the effects of endogenous hormones in humans or mammals after entering into the atmosphere and after being sprayed and applied in large quantities. This research aims to study the mechanism, kinetics, and eco-toxicity evaluation of the ozonolysis of permethrin (PER)-one of the typical pyrethroid (type I) pesticides. Existing experimental studies only predicted that ozonolysis of PER could generate a cycloperoxy analogue of PER (IM13-1-11), and the reaction mechanism has not yet been completed. To make up for the lack of experimental results, the 13 primary reaction pathways of PER and ozone, as well as the subsequent reactions of Criegee intermediates with small molecules such as NOx, COx, SO2, and O-2, have been studied to propose new reaction paths by quantum chemical calculations in this work. We calculated the total reaction rate constant of PER and ozone at 298 K and 1 atm based on the calculated thermodynamic data and the transition state theory (TST), which was compared with the experimental values to prove the reliability of our results. Based on the quantitative structure and activity relationship, we predicted the acute and chronic toxicity of PER and its products of ozonolysis to three representative organisms. fish, daphnia, and green algae to avoid animal experiments. The results show that ozonolysis products of PER are still extremely harmful to the environment and should be taken seriously, although the products have less toxicity than PER.