Environmental Fate

An understanding of the environmental fate processes can help every pesticide producer ensure that applications are not only effective, but are also environmentally safe. Battelle’s expertise provides the data you need to make product development decisions and obtain product registrations.

Our multidisciplinary teams combine decades of agrochemical industry experience with world-class technical expertise and analytical capabilities. We operate in GLP-compliant facilities across the U.S. and Europe providing regulatory compliant studies for submission in all geographic regions.

When you need to know potential risks, and meet regulations, we can:

• Ensure accuracy of outcomes
• Assess risks
• Meet regulatory guidelines
• Provide detailed insight into product behaviors

Our services include the provision of a full range of environmental fate studies to standard guidelines (OECD, OCSPP, JMAFF, etc.) along with higher tier, non-guideline studies designed to investigate specific issues with the potential to refine environmental risk assessments. Standard study types include:  

Metabolism in soil
Standard, guideline compliant studies to meet global regulatory requirements under aerobic, anaerobic and paddy conditions with soils collected from an appropriate region. Dependent upon specific requirements, studies can be conducted with radiolabelled or non-radiolabelled test items. We offer flow-through and static designs with samples incubated in temperature-controlled rooms in the absence of light. Small plot studies with radiolabelled test items also can be performed outdoors under prevailing weather conditions.

Soil dissipation
Field studies to determine how products degrade and dissipate in soil under typical use conditions. With a network of field cooperators across Europe, the U.S. and beyond, we offer a full range of dissipation, accumulation and field leaching studies. 

Metabolism in aquatic/sediment systems
Standard, guideline compliant studies to meet global regulatory requirements under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. We also have facilities to conduct higher tier studies either in the laboratory or outdoors under more realistic environmental conditions. The degradation (mineralisation) in biotic aquatic systems also is investigated.
Mobility in soil
Standard guideline compliant adsorption/desorption studies to provide accurate data for groundwater risk assessments. Higher-tier aged desorption studies also can be performed to provide data for refinement of risk assessments. Alternative studies to provide an insight into leaching potential, including column leaching or lysimeter studies, also are available.

Hydrolysis
Studies to meet international regulatory guidelines with fully compliant hydrolysis testing under sterile conditions. High temperature (processing) hydrolysis studies also are available.

Photolysis
Studies to investigate the influence of sunlight either on soil or in an aqueous environment using Hereaus Suntest artificial sunlight sources and a choice of static or flow-through designs. 

Volatility
Studies to investigate the volatility of a chemical from a variety of matrices such as soil or water. 

Whether your needs are standard or non-standard, Battelle can give you accurate data for confident risk assessment and product registration. We’ll help you reduce risks and meet regulatory requirements.