The environmental chemistry, fate, and toxicology of the herbicide, li
nuron, is reviewed. Linuron is a phenylurea herbicide used for selecti
ve control of annual weeds in fruit and field crops and noncrop areas.
Linuron is soluble in water which suggests that it may leach readily
through soils. Its log K-oc for soil is 2.83, which indicates a modera
te adsorption potential and a moderate mobility. Its half-life is less
than 4 weeks in water and approximately 2 months in soil. The primary
mode of degradation is microbial. In regions of intensive agriculture
, linuron concentrations up to 1100 and 2800 mu g L-1 have been detect
ed in Canadian surface waters and ground waters, respectively. Duckwee
d (Lemna minor), the most sensitive freshwater species for which data
were available, had a 5-d lowest-observed-eff ect level of 70 mu g L-1
for growth inhibition. The most sensitive crop species was the tomato
(Lycopersicum esculentum) with a LOEAR of 0.018 kg ha(-1) for reduced
fresh weight. Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (CWQG) specify levels
of contaminants that should not be exceeded in order to protect and s
ustain the major beneficial uses of water in Canada. For linuron, suff
icient toxicity data were available to derive an interim CWQG of 7 mu
g L-1 for the protection of freshwater life, a full CWQG of 0.071 mu g
L-1 for irrigation water to protect cereals, tame hays, and pasture,
and an interim CWQG of 3.3 mu g L-1 for irrigation water to protect ot
her crops. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.