The vulnerability of groundwater to pesticide contamination estimated directly from observations of presence or absence in wells

Worrall, Fred; Besien, Tim

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.08.019

Cited by 67 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…• More rapid, preferential flow in fractures appears to be a relatively uncommon occurrence at the study sites, although pesticide problems have been identified in areas of the Chalk where karst features are well developed (Worrall & Besien 2005);…”

Section: Evolution Of Groundwater Pesticide Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Pesticide fate and behaviour in the UK Chalk aquifer, and implications for groundwater quality

Chilton

Stuart

Gooddy

et al. 2005

QJEGH

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Field and laboratory studies have been used to assess the main factors that determine the fate and behaviour of agricultural herbicides in the Chalk aquifer of southern England. Field studies using isoproturon, chlortoluron and atrazine showed that leaching of pesticides from normal agricultural usage produces concentrations in Chalk groundwater of 0.01-1 µg l-1 for most compounds, which are comparable with the current EU drinking water standard of 0.1 µg l-1. Where significantly higher concentrations are found in groundwater (up to three or four orders of magnitude higher), these are associated with localized 'point' usage or disposal, often combined with more rapid preferential transport pathways to the water table. Studies of the degradation of isoproturon, mecoprop and atrazine showed that these compounds are significantly more persistent in the Chalk than in soils, with half-lives measured in hundreds rather than tens of days. The observed order of magnitude variation in isoproturon half-lives spatially and with time makes the choice of values for predictive modelling problematic. The implications of the results for the quality at groundwater supply sources are discussed and compared with the situation for nitrate, and uncertainties in knowledge, and therefore the requirements for further work on both transport pathways and pesticide persistence, are reviewed.

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Section: Evolution Of Groundwater Pesticide Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Pesticide fate and behaviour in the UK Chalk aquifer, and implications for groundwater quality

Chilton

Stuart

Gooddy

et al. 2005

QJEGH

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“…residence time or aquifer confinement) or redox controls on the occurrence and fate of many groups of EOCs in groundwater including PPCPs, industrial chemicals and life-style compounds compared to pesticides (e.g. Worrall andKolpin, 2004, Worrall andBesien, 2005).…”

Section: Areas For Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging organic contaminants in groundwater: A review of sources, fate and occurrence

Lapworth

Baran

Stuart

et al. 2012

Environmental Pollution

1,541

587

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Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) detected in groundwater may have adverse effects on human health and aquatic ecosystems. This paper reviews the existing occurrence data in groundwater for a range of EOCs including pharmaceutical, personal care, 'life-style' and selected industrial compounds. The main sources and pathways for organic EOCs in groundwater are reviewed, with occurrence data for EOCs in groundwater included from both targeted studies and broad reconnaissance surveys. Nanogram-microgram per litre concentrations are present in groundwater for a large range of EOCs as well as metabolites and transformation products and under certain conditions may pose a threat to freshwater bodies for decades due to relatively long groundwater residence times. In the coming decades, more of these EOCs are likely to have drinking water standards, environmental quality standards and/or groundwater threshold values defined, and therefore a better understanding of the spatial and temporal variation remains a priority.Keywords: emerging contaminants; review; groundwater; pharmaceuticals; occurrence Capsule: A large range of emerging organic contaminants are now being detected in groundwater as a result of recent and historical anthropogenic activities. IntroductionA diverse array of synthetic organic compounds are used by society in vast quantities for a range of purposes including the production and preservation of food, industrial manufacturing processes, as well as for human and animal healthcare. In the last few decades there has been a growing interest in the occurrence of these, so called, 'micro-organic contaminants' in the terrestrial and aquatic environment, their environmental fate and their potential toxicity (Stan and Linkerhagner, 1992;Stan et al., 1994;Halling-Sørensen et al., 1998;Daughton and Ternes, 1999;Schwarzenbach et al., 2006;Kümmerer, 2009). The contamination of groundwater resources by micro-organics is a growing concern and relatively poorly understood compared to other freshwater resources. Groundwater provides the most reliable perennial source of freshwater on Earth. It maintains flows and levels in rivers and lakes, is essential for the health of groundwater-dependant ecosystems, and in many parts of the world is the most important source of drinking water.Of particular concern are 'emerging organic contaminants' (EOCs). This term is used to cover not only newly developed compounds but also compounds newly discovered in the environment -often due to analytical developments (Lindsey et al., 2001;Petrovic and Barceló, 2006;Richardson and Ternes, 2011) and compounds that have only recently been categorised as contaminants. EOCs include a wide array of different compounds (as well as metabolites and transformation products-collectively referred to here as degradates)including; pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticides, veterinary products, industrial compounds/by-products, food additives as well as engineered nanomaterials. Because of the vast array of possible comp...

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“…They showed the contamination of water samples collected from the Guadalquivir River in Spain with 25 pesticides belonging to different groups at concentrations varied from 1 ng L −1 (methoxychlor) to 5166.9 ng L −1 (dimethoate). Groundwater vulnerability to pesticides varies within and between major aquifer units (Worrall and Besien, 2005). Pesticide contamination of groundwater has been reported in different studies worldwide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Pesticide Residue in Dams and Well Water in Jazan Area, Saudi Arabia

Al-Hatim¹,

Al-Rajhi²,

Al-Rajab³

2015

American Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Abstract:The application of pesticides indoors and on agricultural lands increased dramatically in recent years in the Jazan area (Saudi Arabia) to control termites and the vectors of diseases, such as Rift Valley Fever (RVF) and malaria. This practice increased the potential risk of pesticide contamination of surface water and groundwater. In this study, samples of 44 wells and 3 dams were collected; the samples were analysed for the presence of 15 pesticides used in the Jazan area. The results showed that the most detected compounds in the surface water samples were diazinon, Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), fenitrothion and cyfluthrin, with average concentrations of 0.098, 0.104, 0.321 and 0.394 µg L −1 , respectively. In the groundwater samples, the most detected insecticides were diazinon, dieldrin and fenthion, with average concentrations of 0.117, 0.005 and 0.472 µg L −1 , respectively. In general, detected concentrations of organophosphorus insecticides slightly exceeded the allowed Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of the European Union, which is 0.1 µg L −1 , in some samples. However, the findings of this study about the safety of water resources in the Jazan area were not alarming because the detected concentrations were below the MRL and lower than the limit of the sum of all individual compounds detected in the same sample. More extended investigations are highly recommended.

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The vulnerability of groundwater to pesticide contamination estimated directly from observations of presence or absence in wells

Cited by 67 publications

References 32 publications

Pesticide fate and behaviour in the UK Chalk aquifer, and implications for groundwater quality

Pesticide fate and behaviour in the UK Chalk aquifer, and implications for groundwater quality

Emerging organic contaminants in groundwater: A review of sources, fate and occurrence

Detection of Pesticide Residue in Dams and Well Water in Jazan Area, Saudi Arabia

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