Environmental Aspects of the Photodegradation of Maneb and Propanil in Various Media

Maneb and propanil are two commonly used pesticides that pose many environmental problems. Their rates of photodegradation have been studied by means of spectrophotometric methods using UV-Visible spectrophotometry. The photodegradation kinetics showed that these pesticides were sensitive to light. Second order kinetics was observed in water and therefore pesticides might be very persistent in water. In addition, spectrofluorometry was used to measure their infiltration rates through soil. This was used to assess the level of risks posed by the exposure of pesticides to the environment showing that, Maneb and propanil with respectively infiltration rates of 1.29 cm/h and 26.7 cm/h are potential sources of high risk of contamination for surface and ground waters.