1.2- Dibromoethane degradation

Poelarends GJ, JET van Hylckama Vlieg, JR Marches , LM Freitas dos Santos, DB Janssen (1999) Degradation of 1,2-dibromoethane hy Mycobacterium sp. strain GPL J Bacteriol 181 2050-2058. 

Biotic and abiotic degradation of 1,2-dibromoethane in surface waters is slow relative to volatilization of the compound to the atmosphere (ERA 1987b). 1,2- Dibromoethane is resistant to hydrolysis (Jaber et al. 1984) the hydrolytic half-life of the compound has been reported to range from 2.5 years (Vogel and Reinhard 1982) to 13.2 years (HSDB 1989). As a result of its hydrolytic stability and the limited biological activity in subsurface soils, 1,2- dibromoethane leached to groundwater is expected to persist for years. 

Lai M, Monig J, Asmus K-D. 1986. Free radical induced degradation of 1,2-dibromoethane. Generation of free Br atoms. Free Rad Res Comms 1 235-241. 

Pignatello JJ. 1987. Microbial degradation of 1,2-dibromoethane in shallow aquifer materials. J Environ Qual 16 307-312. 

Guengerich, F.P. (1994) Metabolism and genotoxicity of dihaloalkanes. Adv. Pharmacol., 27,211-236 Guha, S.N., Schoneich, C. Asmus, K.D. (1993) Free radical reductive degradation of vic-dibromoalkanes and reaction of bromine atoms with polyunsaturated fatty acids possible involvement of Br(.) in the 1,2-dibromoethane-induced lipid peroxidation. Arch. Biochem. 

Vinyl bromide may form in air as a degradation product of 1,2-dibromoethane. It may also be released to the environment from facilities which manufacture or use vinyl bromide as a flame retardant for acrylic fibres. Vinyl bromide has been qualitatively identified in ambient air samples (United States National Library of Medicine, 1998a)... 

What Products Do You Expect from Microbial Degradation of 1,2-Dibromoethane (EDB )... 

The bacterial population was apparently already adapted to some of the compounds such as phenol, 4-chlorophenol, and 1,2-dibromoethane at the start of the experiment, and these substrates were therefore rapidly degraded. 

Freitas dos Santos, L.M., D.J. Leak, and A.G. Livingstone. 1996. Enrichment of mixed cultures capable of aerobic degradation of 1,2-dibromoethane. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62 4675-4677. 

Weintraub, R.A. Jex, G.W. Moye, H.A. "Degradation of 1,2-Dibromoethane in Florida Ground Water and Soil, American Chemical Society 189th National Meeting, PEST 110, Florida, 1985. 

Table 2.8 compares hydrolysis half-lives with half-lives for reaction with sulfur-based nucleophiles for several halogenated aliphatics. These data show that the environmental half-lives for substrates such as 1-bromohexane and 1,2-dibromoethane can be substantially reduced in the presence of HS and polysulfides. Enhanced degradation of 2-bromopropane and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, as well as chloroform and carbon tetrachloride (results not shown) was not observed, suggesting that steric hindrance significantly impedes reaction with the sulfur based nucleophiles (Haag and Mill, 1988a). 

Weintraub RA, Jex GW, Moye HA (1986). Chemical and microbial degradation of 1,2-dibromoethane (EDB) in Florida ground water, soil, and sludge. In Evaluation of Pesticides in Ground Water (eds. WY Garner, RC Honeycutt, HN Nigg). Washington, DC ... 

Pignatello, J.J. Microbial Degradation of 1,2-Dibromoethane in Shallow Aquifer Materials, J. Environ. Qual, 16(4) 307-312 (1987). 

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