ABSTRACT
Dimethylformamide has been termed the universal organic solvent and is a widely used solvent for organic compounds where a low rate of evaporation is required. Consequently, dimethylformamide may be emitted to the environment by effluents from a variety of petrochemical industries. Dimethylformamide is expected to biodegrade rapidly in the environment. A calculated Koc of 7 indicates dimethylformamide should be highly mobile in soil. In aquatic systems, dimethylformamide is not expected to partition from the water column to organic matter contained in sediments and suspended solids or bioconcentrate in aquatic organisms. The Henry's Law constant suggests that volatilization of dimethylformamide from environmental waters will not be important. Dimethylformamide is expected to exist almost entirely in the gaseous phase in ambient air. The vapor-phase reaction with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals is likely to be an important fate process.
