ABSTRACT
Buffer zones are areas set adjacent to areas sprayed with pesticides in which spray drift can deposit without consequence. It has been suggested that buffer zones should totally surround areas to be sprayed. We reviewed the scientific literature and employed a recently developed mechanistic model of spray drift to assess the magnitude of upwind spray drift and the consequent need for upwind buffer zones. Neither the scientific literature nor the AgDRIFT model support the need for upwind buffer zones for typical aerial spray applications.
Subject(s)
Agriculture , Air Movements , Environmental Monitoring/methods , Pesticides/analysis , Aerosols , Humans , Models, Theoretical , Pesticides/chemistryABSTRACT
The FSCBG aerial spray drift and deposition model predicts the dispersion of material released from aircraft into the atmosphere, and particularly downwind from the release point. The effects of aircraft wake structure, droplet evaporation, local meteorology, penetration through forest or agricultural canopies, and prediction of ground or canopy deposition, air dosage, and concentration are all included in the model. The long developmental and validation history of the model, a brief summary of its assumptions and underlying approximations, and its present user-friendly operation on personal computers are reviewed and highlighted in this paper.
