Elsevier

Atmospheric Environment

Volume 66, February 2013, Pages 141-144
Atmospheric Environment

Presence of carbaryl in the smoke of treated lodgepole and ponderosa pine bark

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.04.041Get rights and content

Abstract

Lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees were treated with a 2% carbaryl solution at recreational areas near Fort Collins, CO, in June 2010 as a prophylactic bole spray against the mountain pine beetle. Bark samples from treated and untreated trees were collected one day following application and at 4-month intervals for one year. The residual amount of carbaryl was determined, and bark samples were burned to examine the smoke for the active ingredient. Smoke recovered from spiked bark samples showed a very high correlation between the treated rate and the concentration recovered from the smoke. Residual carbaryl on the bark was relatively stable throughout the study and carbaryl was detected in the smoke throughout the duration of the test.

Highlights

► We measure residual carbaryl on field treated pine bark and in wood smoke. ► Carbaryl levels remain steady or decline slightly in one year. ► Carbaryl is detected in the smoke of burned treated bark.

Introduction

Periodic outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) can cause extensive mortality to preferred hosts, especially lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa) (Leatherman et al., 2007). In the western United States, tourism and safety are affected because killed trees are unsightly and become health hazards in areas frequented by people, as the dead trees decay and fall to the ground. Insecticidal formulations are sometimes applied to high-value trees in order to prevent beetle infestation, consequent death of the tree, and treefall that might result in injury to people or damage to property. In the western United States, carbaryl formulations (e.g., Sevin) are preferred for this application. Many aspects of this use of carbaryl were reviewed by Hastings et al. (2001).

Despite insecticide treatment, treated trees are sometimes cut and removed to address hazardous conditions in developed areas. Treatments sometimes fail in areas of very high beetle pressure, because of an improperly applied treatment, or as a result of infestation above the height of the treated bark. The wood of dead trees might be disposed of in an air-curtain burner, in which air is forced into the burning chamber, thereby increasing the temperature and rate of burning as well as reducing the emission of smoke or the trees may be cut and utilized as firewood. A related issue concerns fire fighters and fire safety personnel, who have expressed concern about undertaking wildfire-suppression activities in areas containing insecticide-treated trees.

Previous studies have found that other pesticides, including the herbicides 2,4-D, picloram, hexazinone, dicamba, and dichloroprop (McMahon et al., 1985) and the insecticides chlorpyrifos and lindane (Bush et al., 1987), are present in the smoke of burned, treated wood and vegetation. This study therefore examined residual levels of carbaryl (Sevin SL) on the bark of lodgepole and ponderosa pines and in the smoke of treated pine bark burned in a laboratory furnace.

Section snippets

Spike and recovery trials

Untreated bark samples were collected from near the study area (within 0.8–1.5 km) prior to treatment of the trees. All trees were of similar but undetermined age, being in a naturally generated stand. The solution holding capacity of the untreated bark was measured in order to determine approximate expected field residues for the development of the analytical methods. The solution holding capacity was determined by preparing 1 L of Sevin SL according to the label directions (39 ml Sevin SL

Recovery of carbaryl from spiked bark samples

This extraction method provided a linear response between the applied and recovered carbaryl from 28.8 to 2880 μg g−1 (y = 2.2x  0.73, R2 = 0.996, where x = the applied dose and y = the recovered concentration). When treated bark was burned and the smoke collected on the cartridges, the carbaryl recovered followed a linear relationship from 288 to 2880 μg g−1 (y = 0.04x  0.69, R2 = 0.965). Carbaryl was not readily detected in the smoke of bark treated with less than 288 μg g−1. This is likely due to the relatively

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to Dr. Brian Strom of the USDA Forest Service for input and Blossie Boyd for technical assistance in the laboratory. Funding was provided by the USDA Forest Service Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (FS-PIAP). The coauthor, Sheryl Costello, died in a mountain climbing accident on July 3, 2011 in Washington State at the age of 34. She would have been excited about the results of this study. She will be missed by her colleagues. This paper and the presentation at the American Chemical

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    Information on the concentrations of pesticides in tree bark or wood is currently not published. Available information concerns the changes in carbaryl concentration after application (24 h) and changes monitored during the year in Colorado [61]. One day after application, bark from lodgepole pine contained 1308 µg/kg pesticides and 1465 µg/kg pesticides after a period of one year.

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    Page et al. (1985) reported residues collected from P. contorta bark sprayed with carbaryl in Colorado were 890 μg g−1, and declined to 531 μg g−1 16 months later, but were still sufficient to impart tree protection at 16 months. In a similar study, Peterson and Costello (2013) reported 1308 μg g−1 were detected one day after treatment and 1465 μg g−1 12 months after treatment. The authors attributed the increase to refinement of their sampling technique.

1

Ms. Costello died in a mountain climbing accident on 3 July 2011.

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