International Journal of Environmental Science and Toxicology Research

19-24

Authors: Russ L Altabtabaee, Oshea Chaudhary, Cassandra Clement, Beth Polidoro

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide used in Costa Rica and other countries around the world for banana and plantain production. In Costa Rica, chlorpyrifos is impregnated into blue plastic bags that are placed around ripening fruit to prevent insect damage to fruit skin. Much is known about chlorpyrifos movement and degradation rates from soils and foliage, but no studies are known on the movement and dissipation of chlorpyrifos from plastic bags. Our objective was to determine the rate of chlorpyrifos loss from plastic bags used in banana production, and to estimate the potential amount chlorpyrifos lost through volatilization or degradation annually in banana production in Costa Rica. Although chlorpyrifos bags were found to be very heterogeneous in chlorpyrifos concentration, approximately 90% of the chlorpyrifos was lost within the first 10 days during 3 replicated experiments, under average daily temperature regimes between 19°C and 30°C. As the vast majority of chlorpyrifos is lost from plastic bags under these conditions, it is estimated than 22.5 metric tonnes of chlorpyrifos and degradation products may lost to the environment, annually during banana and plantain production in Costa Rica.