METABOLISM OF PESTICIDES 
Information concerning the fate of pesticides after application 
in the environment is useful to research workers who are concerned 
with their safe and effective use. It is important to know whether a 
compound will persist or whether it will be inactivated. Frequently, 
persistence is desirable for sustained control; for many uses, however, 
rapid detoxification of the compound may be desirable to avoid cumulative 
effects. 
Disappearance of pesticides takes place by leaching, volatilization, 
adsorption, decomposition, or metabolism; and the use to which a 
particular pesticide is best suited may depend on the effects of one 
or more of these processes. 
This review is primarily concerned with the metabolism and decomposition 
of pesticides. The importance of these processes is apparent upon 
consideration of the facts (1) that the duration of toxic action can 
be related to the rate and manner in which the compound is metabolized; 
(2) that the rate of elimination from the body is dependent upon the 
physico-chemical properties of the metabolic products; (3) that the 
ability of a compound to reach a site of action may be limited by the 
rate at which itis metabolized and the character of the metabolic 
products; and (4) that the toxicity of a compound can be decreased or 
intensified upon conversion to a metabolite. These points indicate the 
importance of knowing the pathways of metabolism as well as the degree of 
accumulation of metabolic products in tissue. From a more practical 
standpoint, the identification and measurement of residue levels 
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