ABSTRACT
The butoxyethyl ester of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) will be primarily released to the environment during spraying operations in its use as a herbicide to control terrestrial weeds and woody plants and aquatic weeds. The butoxyethyl ester will be rapidly taken up by plants, algae, and fish but will not bioconcentrate because the ester is readily metabolized and excreted. The butoxyethyl ester of 2,4-D will be primarily released to the environment during spraying operations in its use as a herbicide to control weeds and woody plants on pasture land, roadsides, and cereal crops. The butoxyethyl ester of 2,4-D will exist both in the form of water or oil/water aerosol and as the vapor when released to the atmosphere during spraying operations. Vapor-phase 2,4-D butoxyethyl ester should react with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals by H-atom abstraction with an estimated half-life of 8.5 hr. Agricultural workers may be exposed to 2,4-D butoxyethyl ester during spraying operation using herbicides containing the chemical.
