Reports the current thinking on the role that adsorption may play in the rate and extent of an organic compound's degradation in the soil. Among the topics of the 14 papers are diazinon degradation and dissipation in the root zone, the reductive dechlorination of hexachlorobenzene in wetland soils, and the utility of sorption and degradation parameters from the literature for site-specific pesticide impact assessments. Proceedings from an October 1991 symposium in Denver. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book reviews the occurrence and fate of pesticides in soils, their impact on soil quality and soil ecosystems, and it also provides a comprehensive overview of the latest prevention and remediation strategies of soil contamination. Chapters from expert contributors cover topics such as soil pollution monitoring, the role of dissolved organic matter on the environmental fate of pesticides in soils, the effects of pesticides on soil microbial communities, plant uptake of pesticides from soils, and nano-based pesticides. Particular attention is given to the latest physicochemical and biological technologies developed to immobilize or degrade pesticides, preventing soil and water pollution. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers, professionals, including environmental chemists, engineers, ecologists, and policy-makers responsible for soil management.

Theoretical considerations of the partition uptake of nonionic organic compounds by soil organic matter. The sorption of nonpolar organics by soils and sediments. Sorption dynamics of organic compounds in soils and sediments. Adsorption and reactions of selected organic molecules on clay mineral surfaces. Effect of sunlight on organic contaminants at the atmosphere-soil interface. Dehalogenation of pesticides by anaerobic microorganisms in soils and groundwater: a review. Volatilization of pesticides from soil. Chlorophenols in soils. Hydrolytic transformations of organic chemicals in the environment. Kinetics of biodegradation in soil. Overview of organic chemical environmental fate and transport modeling approaches. Organic chemical movement over and through soil. Environmental behavior of aquatic herbicides in sediments. Transport processes involving organic chemicals. Movement of volatile organic chemicals in soils. Nonequilibrium transport of organic contaminants in groundwater. Hydrologic processes affecting the movement of organic chemicals in soils. Movement of organic chemicals through landfills and hazardous waste disposal sites.

In March, 1983 a workshop on Pollutants in Porous Media was hosted by the Institute of Soils and Water of the Agricultural Research Organi zation in Bet Dagan, Israel. At this workshop, the unsaturated zone be tween the soil surface and groundwater was the focal point of discus sions for scientists from various disciplines such as soil chemists, physicists, biologists and environmental engineers. Since then, the prob lem of soil and water pollution has only worsened as more and more cases of pollution caused by human activities including agriculture and industry have been revealed. A great deal of work has been carried out by environmental scientists since 1983 in elucidating the behavior of the many classes of pollutants and the complex physical, chemical, and bio logical transformations which they undergo as they move through the soil to the vadose zone and, in many cases, the groundwater. In light of this, it was felt that another meeting of specialists from the many disciplines which deal with this subject was necessary and so a Second International Workshop on the Behavior of Pollutants in Porous Media, sponsored by IUPAC (the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) and IAHS (the International Association of Hydrological Sciences), was organized and held in the Institute of Soils and Water of the Agricultural Research Organization in Bet Dagan, Israel during 1987. June, The present volume is a selection of the talks presented at this second workshop and deals only with toxic organic chemicals in porous media.