Analysis of carbofuran and atrazine in soil samples

A very rapid procedure for extracting carbofuran and atrazine from soil is described. Both pesticides were extracted from soil with ethyl acetate following soil-moisture adjustment. Minimal or no effects were caused by soil type, pH, and pesticide concentration. When compared with other carbofuran and atrazine extraction techniques, the ethyl acetate technique was equally effective, less time consuming, and permitted extraction of larger soil samples. Extraction of whole samples was preferred over sub-sampling for carbofuran analyses, because of very uneven distribution of that chemical in soil samples. Carbofuran and atrazine in extracts were measured without extract concentration or cleanup, by a gas-liquid chromatograph (GLC) with a thermionic specific detector. This technique was corroborated by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Atrazine, carbofuran, and several of their metabolites were separated by GLC with an Apiezon N liquid phase. It was the only one of nine liquid phases tested that adequately separated those compounds.