Physical property requirements soil effects

The assessment of health effects due to exposure to the total petroleum hydrocarbons requires much more detailed information than what is provided by a single total petroleum hydrocarbon value. More detailed physical and chemical properties and analytical information on the total petroleum hydrocarbons fraction and its components are required. Indeed, a critical aspect of assessing the toxic effects of the total petroleum hydrocarbons is the measurement of the compounds, and the first task is to appreciate the origin of the various fractions (compounds) of the total petroleum hydrocarbons. Transport fractions are determined by several chemical and physical properties (i.e., solubility, vapor pressure, and propensity to bind with soil and organic particles). These properties are the basis of measures of teachability and volatility of individual hydrocarbons and transport fractions (Chapters 8, 9, and 10). 

An example of the kinds of data required for land disposal options would be Information on soll/pestlclde Interactions to determine the effect of the pesticide on the soil and soil on the pesticide. The physical composition of the soil and the physical properties of the pesticide and Its formulation will determine the adsorption, leaching, water dispersal, and volatilization of the pesticide which. In turn, determine the mobility of the pesticide In soil. Even pesticides of closely related structures may have very different soil retention properties. Much of this data will be available from that developed to meet other registration data requirements with the exception that disposal rates are often orders of magnitude higher than normal application rates and the difference must be considered. 

Additional investigations will be required to resolve the effects of multiple contaminant interactions on the toxicity to ecologically relevant receptors. Risk assessment of contaminant mixtures can be advanced further by developing toxicity benchmark data that consider physical and chemical properties of the soil in order to more accurately determine chemical bioavailability and toxicity at contaminated sites. 

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