MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL July 18: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is currently seeking public comment to determine whether Minnesota’s existing pesticide rules are adequate to protect the state’s natural resources, including our lakes and rivers. Because seeds treated with pesticides — called neonicotinoids — are not legally classified as active pesticides under federal law, they are largely exempt from federal regulations.
Bill Arnold, Ph.D., is available to comment on how organic contaminants behave, break down and move within natural and engineered aquatic ecosystems.
“When neonicotinoids are applied to seeds, most of the pesticide is not absorbed by the crop and remains in the environment — specifically in the soil, surface water and groundwater. To establish meaningful protective environmental policies, it is critical to understand how chemicals like neonicotinoids move and change within the environment. This will allow us to understand the context of detected levels of pesticides in our groundwater.”
Bill Arnold is a professor in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering. His research focuses on water pollutants and how they behave in natural systems like lakes and rivers. His research group uses fundamental chemical processes to study the reactions of pollutants to help predict their environmental impact, which will then be used to develop improved treatment and remediation technologies. Funding for Arnold’s research was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).