ENVIRONMENTAL FATE AND ACCOUNTANCY

A recently developed analytical model for environmental fate and total accountancy predicts the mass fraction of aerially released material that vaporizes, deposits on canopies, deposits on the ground, or remains aloft, and is part of the FSCBG model, an accepted dispersion prediction system for aerial application of pesticides. In this review the importance of accurate field measurements for model evaluation is discussed in detail, and reference is made to aerial application data collected during 1991 field trials in Utah. Without information on fate (material transport, degradation, and persistence), researchers cannot make predictions, or even reasonable assumptions, about the impact of pesticides on species of concern or ecosystems in general; nor can they weigh the risks and economic benefits of pesticide use. :implications of model use to the environmental fate of pesticides are discussed.