Wilson 1999

Pesticide Science Pestic Sci 55:755±757 (1999)
Book reviews succinct guide to many of the key issues in qualitative

analysis. I believe that this booklet will become
essential reading to many who are training in analysis
and, perhaps, to some who are already experienced
practitioners. The 23 page guide is divided into 12
Pesticide remediation in soils and water sections, each covering a different topic. Each section
PC Kearney and T Roberts, is cross-referenced to the appropriate VAM Principle
John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester, UK, 1998 and is written in the economical style necessary for a
pp XV 381, price UK£85.00 booklet which is equally at home in the laboratory or
ISBN 0 471 968056 the lecture room.
I am pleased to see the emphasis on establishing a
This is the second (®rst according to the preface) dialogue between the laboratory and the customer.
volume of a new series in Agrochemicals and Plant Not establishing what is required at the beginning of
Protection and tackles the subject of pesticide waste the analysis is often a source of contention between
treatment. The ®rst two chapters review the potential analyst and customer and often accounts for data
for pollution through the pesticide manufacturing and being produced which are in excess of what is required
distribution system and the steps that have already in terms of both quantity, necessary speci®cation and
been taken to reduce the likelihood of its occurring. cost. The iterative nature of the dialogue is sum-
Chapters 3 and 4 consider the properties of pesticides marised well in the ®gure given in appendix A.
and how their fate and behaviour at high concentra- The guide avoids going into excessive detail on how
tions may affect disposal options and the processes of to avoid the various problems it highlights. This is an
attenuation, familiar to those who have studied excellent approach, both preserving the brevity of the
pesticide fate following their normal agricultural use. guide and recognising that the solutions to each
Nine of the next ten chapters each take on individual problem will vary considerably between different types
remediation processes; incineration, thermal desorp- of laboratory, depending on their area of operation.
tion, land farming, direct radical oxidation, bio- I am pleased to see this publication and hope to see
remediation, biostimulation, phytoremediation, and it in constant use as an aide memoire for analysts,
photoremediation while chapter 12 reviews innovative business development personnel, customers and
remediation technologies. Each chapter sets out well laboratory managers.
the basic theory of the process, the extent to which it is
developed (generally with case histories) and an MF Wilson
indication of the economic viability. The ®nal chapter
sets out the US regulatory framework within which
remediation must take place and collates some useful
information about statutes and competent authorities. Pesticide bound residues in soil. Workshop –
This last chapter exempli®es my one real criticism of Senate Commission for the Assessment of
the book, which is that it is almost entirely focused on Chemicals used in agriculture, Report 2
US experience and regulations; only in chapter 13 on Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim, Germany, 1998
photoremediation is there any signi®cant reference to pp 186, price UK £45.00
European experience. Having said that, the book ISBN 3 527 27583 5
would be of interest to those who need to get a good
overview of the technologies available for pesticide The signi®cance of pesticide residues bound to soil
remediation, in particular students on post-graduate (non-extractable residues) is an open question. Are
courses, recently recruited regulatory staff and re- they a time-bomb ticking away which will `explode'
searchers who may be entering this ®eld from a once a certain loading is reached? Or, since 50 years of
background of more classical crop protection/environ- widespread pesticide use has not apparently given rise
mental fate of agrochemicals. to any such identi®able long-term problems, can we
merely assume that incorporation of pesticides into
RJ Williams soil organic matter so changes them as to render them
harmless for all time?
In 1996, these possible concerns and the research
Qualitative analysis: A guide to best practice priorities therefrom formed the basis of a workshop in
WA Hardcastle Germany, which followed from a status report on
Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK. 1998 `Ecotoxicology of Pesticides' prepared for the German
viii 23 pp, price US$9.50 (DFG) Senate Commission. This workshop, on which
ISBN: 085404 4620 this multi-author volume is based, considered all
aspects of the de®nition, behaviour and signi®cance
Dr Hardcastle and his team have produced a timely, of pesticide residues bound in soil.
# 1999 Society of Chemical Industry. Pestic Sci 0031±613X/99/$17.50 755

Wilson 1999

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Pesticide Science Pestic Sci 55:755±757 (1999)

Book reviews succinct guide to many of the key issues in qualitative

# 1999 Society of Chemical Industry. Pestic Sci 0031±613X/99/$17.50 755

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