Pesticide removal curves

Figure 5. Carbolator pilot test 2 pesticide removal curves. Reproduced with permission from Ref. 2. Copyright 1983, Marcel Dekker, Inc.

Figure 7. Pesticide removal curves for the bench-scale recirculatory carbon absorption system.

The second group consists of algorithms associated with the pesticide concentration quantification. In this case, the initial data is the processed sensor response for an unknown pesticide concentration and the parameters of the calibration curve (which is derived from preliminary experimental calibration measurements for a range of standard pesticide concentrations) or alternatively, a set of sensor responses obtained by addition of known amounts of pesticide to the analysed sample. This group of algorithms allows the automation of the pesticide quantification, thereby enabling the use of the instrumentation by unskilled personal. This removes the sensing platform from specialised laboratories to the realm of the end-users. 

Wheeler et al. (2002) established acute freshwater and saltwater SSDs for 21 substances, including ammonia, metals, several pesticides, and narcotic substances. Using HC5 calculations and curve slope, they found freshwater species were either more sensitive (ammonia, copper, nickel, or zinc) or less sensitive (chlordane, endosulfan, pentachlorophenol) than saltwater species. In some cases, the distributions were very similar however, the taxonomic compositions of the freshwater and saltwater data sets were not always comparable. Maltby et al. (2005) analyzed SSDs for 16 insecticides and inter alia compared SSDs based on saltwater and freshwater species. They concluded (page 379) that the taxonomic composition of the species assemblage used to construct the SSD does have a significant influence on the assessment of hazard, but the habitat and geographical distribution of the species do not. Differences in freshwater and saltwater SSDs were primarily driven by taxonomy (e.g., both crustaceans and insects are present in freshwater, but only crustaceans are found in seawater). Correcting for the disparity in taxonomy removed habitat differences. 

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