Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Predicting the Persistence of Organic Compounds

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

Abstract

Over 30000 chemicals are used in commercial quantities and very few of these chemicals have experimental data on their environmental degradability/persistence. This chapter reviews databases which can be searched for persistence information and what to do when the chemical of interest does not have any data. Two general approaches are suggested: (1) identify chemicals that are similar in structure and have persistence data or (2) use general quantitative structure-degradation relationships (QSDR) models. It is concluded that estimation methods are available for the most important degradation processes: atmospheric oxidation, biodegradation, and hydrolysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Muir DCG, Howard PH (2006) Are there other persistent organic pollutants? Environ Sci Technol 40:7157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Howard PH (2000) Biodegradation. In: Boethling RS, Mackay D (eds) Handbook of property estimation method for chemicals: environmental and health sciences. CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, p 281

    Google Scholar 

  3. Boethling RS, Howard PH, Meylan WM (2004) Environ Toxicol Chem 23:2290

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Howard PH, Sage GW, LaMacchia A, Colb A (1982) J Chem Inform Comput Sci 22:38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Howard PH, Hueber AE, Mulesky BC, Crisman JC, Meylan W, Crosbie E, Gray DA, Sage GW, Howard KP, LaMacchia A, Boethling R, Troast R (1986) Environ Toxicol Chem 5:977

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Boethling RS, Howard PH, Meylan W, Stiteler W, Beauman J, Tirado N (1994) Environ Sci Technol 28:459

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Tunkel J, Howard PH, Boethling RS, Stiteler W, Loonen H (2000) Environ Toxicol Chem 19:2478

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2007) Chemicals testing – guidelines, section 3: degradation and accumulation. http://www.oecd.org/document/57/0,2340,en_2649_34377_2348921_1_1_1_1,00.html . Last visited: 12/7/07

  9. Eriksson L, Jaworska J, Worth AP, Cronin MTD, McDowell RM, Gramatica P (2003) Environ Health Perspect 111:1361

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Jaworska JS, Comber M, Auer C, Van Leeuwen CJ (2003a) Environ Health Perspect 111:1358

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kier LB, Hall LH (1976) Molecular connectivity in chemistry and drug research. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  12. de Gregorio C, Kier LB, Hall LH (1998) J Comput Aided Mol Des 12:557

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. US EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) (2007) EPI Suite™ Estimation Software. http://www.epa.gov/oppt/exposure/pubs/episuitedl.htm . Last visited: 12/7/07

  14. Klopman G (1998) J Chem Inf Comput Sci 38:78

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. LMC (Laboratory of Mathematical Chemistry) (2007) CATABOL Software. Bourgas “Prof. As. Zlatarov” University, Bourgas Bulgaria. http://oasis-lmc.org/?section=software&swid=1 . Last visited: 12/7/07

  16. Jaworska JS, Boethling RS, Howard PH (2003b) Environ Toxicol Chem 22:1710

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Howard PH, Boethling RS, Stiteler WM, Meylan WM, Hueber AE, Beauman JA, Larosche ME (1992) Environ Toxicol Chem 11:593

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Meylan WM, Boethling RS, Aronson D, Howard PH, Tunkel J (2007) Environ Toxicol Chem 26:1785

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Howard PH, Hueber AE, Boethling RS (1987) Environ Toxicol Chem 6:1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Aronson D, Boethling R, Howard P, Stiteler W (2006) Chemosphere 63:1953

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Jaworska JS, Dimitrov S, Nikolova N, Mekenyan O (2002) SAR QSAR Environ Res 13:307

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Boethling RS, Lynch DG, Jaworska JS, Tunkel JL, Thom GC, Webb S (2004) Environ Toxicol Chem 23:911

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Meylan WM, Howard PH (2003) Environ Toxicol Chem 22:1724

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Öberg T (2005) Atmosph Environ 39:2189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Meylan WM, Howard PH (1993) Chemosphere 26:2293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Atkinson R (2000) Atmospheric oxidation. In: Boethling RS, Mackay D (eds) Handbook of property estimation methods for chemicals: environmental and health sciences. CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, p 335

    Google Scholar 

  27. Atkinson R, Carter WPL (1984) Chem Rev 84:437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Mabey W, Mill T (1978) J Phys Chem Ref Data 7:383

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Wolfe NL, Jeffers PM (2000) Hydrolysis. In: Boethling RS, Mackay D (eds) Handbook of property estimation method for chemicals: environmental and health sciences. CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, p 311

    Google Scholar 

  30. Hilal SH, Carreira LA, Karickhoff SW (1994) Estimation of chemical reactivity parameters and physical properties of organic molecules using SPARC. In: Politzer P, Murray JS (eds) Quantitative treatments of solute/solvent interactions, theoretical and computational chemistry. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 291

    Google Scholar 

  31. Whiteside TS, Hilal SH, Carreira LA (2005) QSAR Comb Sci 24:123

    Google Scholar 

  32. Mill T, Haag W, Penwell P, Pettit T, Johnson H (1987) Environmental fate and exposure studies. Development of a PC-SAR for hydrolysis: Esters, alkyl halides and epoxides. EPA Contract No. 68-02-4254. SRI International, Menlo Park, CA

    Google Scholar 

  33. Mill T (2000) Photoreactions in surface waters. In: Boethling RS, Mackay D (eds) Handbook of property estimation method for chemicals: environmental and health sciences. CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, p 355

    Google Scholar 

  34. Tratnyek PG, Macalady DL (2000) Oxidation-reduction reactions in the aquatic environment. In: Boethling RS, Mackay D (eds) Handbook of property estimation method for chemicals: environmental and health sciences. CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, p 383

    Google Scholar 

  35. US EPA (2000) Interim guidance for using ready and inherent biodegradability tests to derive input data for multimedia models and wastewater treatment plants (WWT) models (9/1/2000). http://www.epa.gov/oppt/exposure/pubs/halflife.htm . Last visited: 12/7/07

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Syracuse Research Corporation, 7502 Round Pond Road, 13212, N. Syracuse, NY, USA

    Philip H. Howard

Authors
  1. Philip H. Howard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philip H. Howard .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Howard, P.H. (2008). Predicting the Persistence of Organic Compounds. In: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2008_012

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2008_012

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation