kazaa81 - 15-8-2007 at 16:50
hello,
being tired of neighbours spreading organophosphate
chemicals just to keep away hardly harmful bugs in
general and harming such nice things to have in garden
as amphibians and insects,
I'm thinking to apply some measure rather than
getting into a law-fighting against some uncivilized
humans.
Would be sodium or calcium hypochlorite a good
binding agent on dimethoate and related
anticholinesterase compounds? Is there any compound
more safe to apply in an animal-inhabited environment?
thank you all
[Edited on by kazaa81]
The_Dude - 15-8-2007 at 17:47
Hi Kazaa81,
When it comes to remediating sites contaminated with organophosphorous pesticides, we aren't actually binding compounds to the anticholinesterases
(except during in situ pump and sump treatments using very specific chelating agents such as cyclodexterins [the active chemical in Febreeze]), but
rather we are taking the first step in a series of reactions that eventually result in the decomposition of the pesticide.
In general, organophosphorous compounds are not particularly soluble in water, but fairly soluble in oils or fats. What you need to do is find a
chemical that can break one of the ester bonds on the phosphate, resulting in a much more water soluble (and usually much less toxic) chemical that
will be carried into the soil where bacteria and other mechanisms can continue breaking down the chemicals. The ester bonds will generally break down
due to catalytic action of metal hydroxides and metal oxides found in soil in anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 weeks, if left untreated.
Any nucleophile can do this job, including solutions of lye in water or basic solutions of hydrogen peroxide. Sodium hypochlorite will also act as a
nucleophile towards the phosphorous, but you have to weigh the effects of these chemicals on the environment versus the damage caused by the
pesticide. Strong base, peroxide anion and bleach are all valid options for redemiating a concentrated pesticide spill, but I think they would cause
more harm than good in a neighbour's garden. I would recommend discussing the issue with your neighbours before taking matters in to your own hands.
Good luck.
kazaa81 - 16-8-2007 at 07:27
Thank you for your reply.
I don't know if I explained clear enough, but it's my neighbour spraying
everywhere and so eventually on my garden too, harming the insects and
amphibians living in it;
I talked with her, but she keep saying it's not her problem, she's just keeping
those away of her garden.
Actually I thought it would be worse to apply a nucleophile on my garden,
so I'm getting into the idea to use a rather mechanical method instead of stricly chemical ex. a mosquito net wetted with NaOH and spread 1 meter up
the pond.