Levels and Seasonal Variability of Pesticides in the Rural Atmosphere of Southern Ontario

Air samples were collected continuously in Egbert, Ontario, which is in a rural agricultural area north of Toronto, between March 2006 and September 2007 and analyzed for pesticides of both current and historic use. The fungicide chlorothalonil was present in highest abundance with levels exceeding 2000 pg.m(-3) in the summer. Almost as abundant, with summer time concentrations around 400 to 600 pg.m(-3), were the herbicides atrazine, alachlor, and metolachlor. Other pesticides in current use, such as trifluralin, pendimethalin, chlorpyrifos, endosulfan, and disulfoton were consistently present at levels approximately 1 order of magnitude lower. Concentrations of banned pesticides (chlordanes and hexachlorocyclohexane), were generally below 10 pg.m(-3), except for hexachlorobenzene, which was present at the global average of approximately 50 pg.m(-3). These levels and the fact that they are generally lower than what has been reported for the area previously are in agreement with pesticide usage data for Ontario. Only the concentrations of chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, and HCB were correlated with air mass origin, as determined by back trajectory analysis. All pesticides had higher levels during the growing season compared to those in winter, but the ratio of concentrations during the different seasons is much higher for the pesticides in current use. That ratio may aid in distinguishing seasonal variability caused by pesticide application during the growing season from that caused by temperature-driven revolatilization. Higher concentrations of the banned pesticides during 2607 compared to those in 2006 may be due to higher volatilization rates caused by higher surface temperatures consistent with the El Nino Southern Oscillation.