Resistance to biodegradation

Natural Waters. Many water systems have a natural tendency to produce foam upon agitation. The presence of poUutants exacerbates this problem. This was particularly severe when detergents contained surfactants that were resistant to biodegradation. Then, water near industrial sites or sewage disposal plants could be covered with a blanket of stable, standing foam (52,59). However, surfactant use has switched to biodegradable molecules, which has gready reduced the incidence of these problems. 

Mitex [2385-85-5] is l,2,3,4,5,5,6,7,8,9,10,10-dodecachloro-octahydro-l,3,4-metheno-2JT-cyclobuta-p,<7 -pentalene (37) (mp 485°C). The rat LD s are 306, 600 (oral) and >2000 (dermal) mg/kg. Mirex is extremely resistant to biodegradation and was once considered the perfect stomach poison iasecticide for use ia baits to control imported fire ants. However, even at doses of a few milligrams per 10 m it was found to bioaccumulate ia birds and fish and its registrations were canceled ia the United States ia 1976. 

Since asbestos fibers are all siUcates, they exhibit several other common properties, such as incombustibiUty, thermal stabiUty, resistance to biodegradation, chemical inertia toward most chemicals, and low electrical conductivity. 

Alkylphenol ether sulfates are slightly more resistant to biodegradation than alkylbenzenesulfonates. Similarly to alcohol ether sulfates, this resistance increases with the degree of ethoxylation. Again there are some differences in favor of primary alkylphenol ether sulfates with respect to secondary alkylphenol ether sulfates [426]. 

Phosphoric and polyphosphoric acid esters Perfluorinated anionics Sulfonic acid salts Strong surface tension reducers Good oil in water emulsifiers Soluble in polar organics Resistant to biodegradation High chemical stability Resistant to acid and alkaline hydrolysis... 

Most of the common 15 hazardous pesticides are chlorinated hydrocarbons. Adsorption can be an important process for most. All except DDT, endosulfan, and heptachlor resist hydrolysis, and most are also resistant to biodegradation. Kearney and Kaufman118 review conditions under which chlorinated pesticides are biodegraded. 

Wash effluents from nitration installation can cause problems due to the high nitrophenol concentrations, their high toxicity to sewage bacteric and their general resistance to biodegradation. Electrochemical pretreatment tests in the laboratory showed a reduction in toxicity, and improvement of the color smell, etc. The electrochemical pretreatment is also attractive because of the absence of solid waste coproducts and its ease of operational control, [135]. 

However, since DTDMAC also shows a pronounced resistance to biodegradation (see Chapter 1.7), it has been almost completely replaced by the more environmentally acceptable esterquats. 

Chlordecone is similar to mirex in structure and is also highly persistent in soils and sediments (halflife expected to be analogous to 10 years duration for mirex) because of its resistance to biodegradation, although some microbial metabolism of chlordecone has been reported (Lai and Saxena 1982 Ordorff and Colwell 1980). No evidence of microbial degradation was detected for chlordecone exposed to hydrosoils from a reservoir (not previously contaminated with chlordecone) and from Bailey Creek (contaminated with chlordecone) under either anaerobic or aerobic conditions for 56 days (Huckins et al. 1982). 

Higher-molecular-weight PAHs, such as pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, and benzo(e)-pyrene, exhibit a high resistance to biodegradation. PAHs with three or more condensed rings tend not to act as a sole substrate for microbial growth and require cometabolic transformations. Neilson and Allard (1998) report a cometabolic reaction of pyrene, 1,2-benzanthracene, 3,4-benzopyrene, and phenanthrene in the presence of either naphthalene or phenanthrene. However, the cometabolic reactions are very slow in natural ecosystems. 

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