DISTRIBUTION, PERSISTENCE, AND FATE OF MEXACARBATE IN THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT OF A MIXED-WOOD BOREAL FOREST

The distribution and persistence of aerially applied mexacarbate were studied in a New Brunswick aquatic forest environment after spraying twice at a dosage of 70 g A.l./ha using a fixed-wing aircraft. Average droplet density (drops/cm(2)) and ground deposition (g A.l./ha) between the two applications differed considerably. The values for the first and second applications were 1.7 and 0.73, and 5.2 and 2.0, respectively, but the average NMD (20 mu m) and VMD (36 mu m) for both applications were nearly the same. The maximum 1-h postspray concentrations of mexacarbate in the stream and pond waters were 0.73 and 18.74 ppb, respectively. Concentrations fell rapidly to below detection limits within 12 h in stream and within 3 d in pond water. Cattails (Typha latifolia), manna grass (Glyceria borealis) and bog moss (Sphagnum sp.) collected from the pond contained peak 1-h postspray concentrations of 720, 482 acid 81 ppb, respectively. The concentration levels decreased rapidly and the average half-lives of the chemical in them were about 3.9, 8.5 and 2.0 h. Bog moss, stream moss (Fontinalis sp.), watercress (Nasturtium officinalis), buttercup (Ranunculus aquatilis) and green alga (Drapamaldia sp.) sampled from the stream sites did not contain measurable levels of mexacarbate, Also, caged and wild tadpoles (Rana clamitans melanota) from the pond, and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) (caged and wild), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (wild) and mayfly nymphs (Ephemeralla sp.) collected from the stream did not contain any of the material. Mexacarbate was not detected in stream and pond sediments. The demethylated products, 4-methylamino and 4-amino-3,5-xylyl methylcarbamates and the phenol, 4-dimethylamino-3,5-xylenol, were frequently detected as metabolites in water and in the aquatic plants. The presence of these compounds showed that demethylation and hydrolytic routes are the major metabolic pathways for the dissipation of mexacarbate from these substrates.