Web Alert: Environmental fate of pesticides

Lawrence P. Wackett*

An annotated selection of World Wide Web sites relevant to the topics in environmental microbiology

*McKnight Professor & Head, Microbial Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA

 

Pesticide wise: Environmental fate
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/pesticides/c_2.htm
This website provides an excellent tutorial on the key features underlying the fate of pesticides in the environment.

ExtoxNet: Pesticide environmental fate
http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/pesticide/pestfate.htm
ExtoxNet is the extension toxicology network. It is general toxicology database that contains a frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) page dealing with pesticide environmental fate.

Pesticide fate models
http://www.pfmodels.org/links.html
This website is dedicated to pesticide fate modeling. It contains links to web-based modeling software, papers, theses, and research groups working in the area.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Pesticides
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
This website of the United States EPA has general information about pesticides as well as regulatory, scientific and policy issues.

EAWAG: Links for environmental chemistry
http://www.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/uchem/links/index_EN
This aquatic research center webpage contains links to pesticide properties, manufacture and regulations.

Pesticide fate database
http://cfpub.epa.gov/pfate/home.cfm
The pesticide fate database is designed to provide information to help researchers predict how pesticides will behave in the environment. A large list of known pesticide metabolites is provided.

National pesticide information center
http://npic.orst.edu/tech.htm
The pesticide information center provides information on their website. In addition, they provide a resource for concerned citizens who may call them with specific questions regarding pesticides.

OECD database on pesticide/biocide reviews
http://www2.oecd.org/pestdata/index.asp
The OECD database has a search driven homepage. Users can search based on country, pesticide, or CAS number.

Pesticide properties database
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=14199
The pesticide database of the United States Department of Agriculture contains chemical and physical properties information on a range of pesticides.

PBT profiler
http://www.pbtprofiler.net/
The PBT profiler is a prediction tool. Its goal is to identify compounds that might be persistent, bioaccumulate, or be toxic to aquatic life.

Compendium of pesticide common names
http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/
This website is a helpful resource where one can find listed over one thousand pesticides. The compendium provides information on nomenclature, properties, and classification based on the biological target of the pesticide.

BDP server: Prediction of environmental fate
http://www.pdg.cnb.uam.es/BDPSERVER/
The BDP server predicts whether compounds can be degraded or not. Compounds are designated as being in central metabolism, having a pathway to carbon dioxide, or being non-biodegradable.

Pathway prediction system
http://umbbd.msi.umn.edu/predict/
The pathway prediction system predicts plausible pathways for microbial degradation of chemicals, including pesticides. The predictions are based on rules that have been generated based on reactions contained within the University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database.

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