ABSTRACT
If released to soil, 1,2-dibromoethylene would be expected to rapidly volatilize from the soil surface. Based on its low soil adsorption coefficient, leaching of the compound from subsurface soil may occur. If released into water, 1,2-dibromoethylene would rapidly volatilize. It has been estimated that the half-life for the volatilization of the compound from a model river 1 m deep flowing at 1 m/sec and a wind velocity of 3 m/sec is 4.2 hr. Based on the hydrolysis characteristics of 1,2-dichloroethylene, 1,2-dibromoethylene may slowly hydrolyze in water but rate data are lacking. Based on an estimation method and the average concentration of hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere, 1,2-dibromoethylene will degrade by reacting with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals with a half-life of about 4 days. Since 1,2-dichloroethylene, a compound structurally similar to 1,2-dibromoethylene, does not absorb sunlight available in the troposphere, the direct photolysis of 1,2-dibromoethylene should also be unimportant in air, water or soil surfaces.
