Degradation of diazinon contaminated waters by ionizing radiation

Study of degradation of diazinon pesticide by 60Co gamma irradiation in a single aqueous solution was conducted on a laboratory scale and the effect of ionizing radiation on the removal efficiency of diazinon residues was investigated. Distilled water solutions at three different concentrations of targeted compound (i.e. 0.329, 1.643 and 3.286 μmol dm−3) were irradiated over the range 0.1–6 kGy. The initial concentration of contaminant and irradiation doses play a significant role in the rate of destruction; this was evident from the calculated decay constants of diazinon residue. Gamma radiolysis showed that the absorbed doses from 1.5 to 5.6 kGy at a dose rate of 4.79 kGy h−1 achieved 90% destruction for diazinon with initial concentrations over the range 0.329–3.286 μmol dm−3. The radiolytic degradation by-products and their mass balances were qualitative determined with good confidence by using GC/quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with EI+ or CI in positive and negative ionization mode and diazinon degradation pathways were proposed. Additionally, the final products of irradiation were identified by ion chromatography (IC) to be acetic and formic acid.