Soil Pollution by Atrazine: Research on an Experimental Model

The herbicide atrazine (ATZ) can pollute steps in the food chain due to its persistence in the soil. Studies on the persistence, degradation and leaching of ATZ are of interest (Schiavon 1988). The purpose of this research is the evaluation, in the soil, of the following parameters used in this experimental model: 1. the transformation, at different times, of NlZ, watered just once onto the surface of the soil; 2. the penetration of lhe ATZ into the lower layers of the soil; 3. the elimination of both ATZ and its metabolites by means of water drainage in relation to the amount of water supplied (artificial rain); 4. the absorption of ATZ by vegetation which could eventually develop on the soil.