Fundamentals of Hydrolysis: Kinetics of Carbaryl Hydrolysis

Introduction: During 2000, 293 billion pounds of about 8000 different organic compounds were manufactured in the United States (1). Many millions of pounds of synthetic organic compounds are deliberately introduced into the environment for weed and pest control, and many millions of pounds of other chemicals are introduced into the environment through their proper uses. However, an increase in production and dispersion of synthetic organic chemicals is reported to be responsible for species extinction and several hundred thousand of human cancers per year (2). Several years ago, the government began to regulate the manufacture and use of selected chemicals, such as DDT, which had been shown to be exceptionally hazardous to the biological environment (3). In addition, federal registrations such as the Toxic Substance Control Act regulate the introduction of hazardous chemicals into the environment (3).