before the
Division of Agrochemicals
American Chemical Society
228th National Meeting
Paper #222
Stuart Z. Cohen, Ph.D., CGWP
Qingli Ma, Ph. D.
Environmental & Turf Services, Inc.
Wheaton, MD
August 19, 2009
Abstract
Residential/urban developments are typically designed and built with BMP features. Examples
are detention basins, sand filters, wetlands, porous pavers, infiltration basins, and wet ponds.
This practice has been standard operating procedure in most counties in the US for several
decades. One objective of these BMPs is the control of peak storm flow to control erosion. Of
greater interest for this symposium is the other key objective, the protection of water quality.
Civil engineers and urban planners are familiar with this standard of care for urban
environments, but pesticide scientists and regulators are generally not. Many studies have been
done on contaminant attenuation by urban BMPs. For example, the International Stormwater
BMP Database contains data from over 300 studies. Most analytes in BMP studies are not
pesticides, e.g., TSS, nitrate, lead, and P. However, this extensive amount of data could be used
to guide risk assessment and risk reduction discussions and investigations for urban pesticides.