Benjamin Nichols | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Benjamin Nichols
Title: Determination of Conditions Causing The Leaching of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Water
Major: Chemistry
Advisor: Karl Feierabend

Anticoagulant rodenticide contamination in nature is a relevant issue as research has indicated that rodenticide concentrations are being found within nontarget wildlife and water treatment sites, potentially putting human populations at risk as well as local wildlife. The issue is worsened due to the increase in more toxic second-generation baits, which prove to be more dangerous than earlier rodenticide baits such as warfarin. These rodenticides mainly enter the environment through rainwater flooding sewers and farmland, causing the baits to enter local natural water sources where they dissolve or “leach” into the water, depositing their active ingredients, which are in turn responsible for harming target animals. Within this study and experiment, the conditions that cause rodenticide leaching/dissolution to occur were determined through a dissolution test combined with HPLC-MS/MS analysis to determine which conditions facilitate dissolution. It was found that while increasing the pH of the dissolution solution caused a slight increase in concentrations leached for warfarin, UV radiation exposure and an increased stir rate greatly influence warfarin leaching. Brodifacoum and difenacoum baits did not leach in quantifiable amounts in any trial, possibly due to their low solubility in water.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.