Division 1.6 PRINCIPLE OF THE TEST METHOD

Soil samples are treated with the test substance and incubated in the dark in biometer-type flasks or in flow-through systems under controlled laboratory conditions (at constant temperature and soil moisture). After appropriate time intervals, soil samples are extracted and analysed for the parent substance and for transformation products. Volatile products are also collected for analysis using appropriate absorption devices. Using ¹⁴C-labelled material, the various mineralisation rates of the test substance can be measured by trapping evolved ¹⁴CO₂ and a mass balance, including the formation of soil bound residues, can be esstablished.