Pesticides in drinking water
Abstract
Background: Use of pesticides deceives of indisputable advantage, however remainders of pesticides in drinking water might represent potential danger for health on foodstuffs. In European Union (EU) pesticides and their relevant metabolic, degrading and reactive products, with exception for aldrin, dieldrin, heptaclor and heptaclor epoxide, should not exceed the concentration of 0.10 μg/l. At limit value 0.10 μg/l we wish to achieve null value these substances in drinking water.
Methods: In years 2004 and 2005 monitoring of pesticides in drinking waters on pipes of consumers in all larger towns in state was done. Majority of pesticides were analysed by gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry while fluid cromatography was used primarily for badly volatile or polar and termolabile compound.
Results: Results of analyses of drinking water and of ground waters for years 2004 and 2005 showed that levels of atrazine, desethyl-atrazine and 2.6 dichlorobenzamide were exceeded few times when compared to required levels. In 2005 bentazone, MCPP, metolachlor, terbuthylazin were exceeded. In 2004 concentration of pesticides were exceeded in 25 samples in 15 different areas, supplying 183,881 inhabitants. In 2005 concentration of pesticides were exceeded in 31 samples in 14 different areas, supplying 151,297 inhabitants. The distribution shows, that contamination was present mostly in the northeast part of Slovenia, where intensive agriculture takes place.
Conclusions: Received status review acquired by monitoring of pesticides in drinking water is only an assessment of circumstances that will gain in representativity by enlarged number of sampling locations and longer observation time. For assessment of trends of pollution of drinking water in Slovenia it will be necessary to monitor concentration of pesticides through longer period. We could have unpolluted drinking water only with restricted use of pesticides on water-protection ranges or prior registration of decomposable pesticides. Atrazine in doses of several hundred mikrograms kg per kg of physical weight in vivo and 10 mikrograms in vitro can produce enodocrine disruptance in humans (PEM). According to available toxicological data on the pesticide impact, we estimate that such low levels of atrazine and 2.6-dichlorobenzamide measured et user’s pipe do not represent a serious for public health and a possible publicly health problem in Slovenia. At the same time it is clear that present findings on pesticides do not represent absolute safe concentrations and cannot exclude possible future impact on health in general. Therefore, a certain level of precaution must be applied. The fact is that the field of pesticides is still under exploration which results is new scientific facts/discoveries and changing of doctrinal standpoints about danger of individual matter for health.
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