Processes of pesticide migration and pesticide management in the geological environment

Abstract

The content of pesticides in groundwater and other environmental objects in some regions of Ukraine was investigated. Persistent organochlorine pesticides were determined by gas chromatography: DDT and its metabolites, HCCH and its isomers, aldrin, heptachlor; organophosphoric pesticides: methaphos, carbophos, phosphomide, phozalone; fluorine-containing pesticides: trephlane.etc. From 1960 to 2011, 2 million 85 thousand tons of pesticides were applied to agricultural lands of Ukraine. The pressure of pesticides on farmland soils exceeded the protective properties of the natural environment, which led to their entry into the underground geosystem. According to our calculations (for a 10-year period), the average concentration of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs)s in the main aquifers of Ukraine is 3,6·10⁻⁵ mg/dm³ by the amount of DDT; 3·10⁻⁵ mg/dm³ by the amount of HCCH. Up to 8 agricultural pollutants were simultaneously detected in well water, the total effect of which on the human body has not been studied. A wide range of field and laboratory experimental works was carried out to study the chemical state of groundwater of the Eocene aquifer (pesticide content) in the Kyiv region; the main processes and factors that affect the migration of pesticides in the underground geosystem and the formation of the chemical composition of groundwater in the active water exchange zone in different hydrogeological conditions were investigated. We summarized publications and performed our own research on migration processes in the “pesticide-soil-water” system. We have made conclusions on the migration of pesticides in the underground geosystem. A methodology for the use of pesticides in the geological environment has been developed. It is necessary to control and strictly regulate the volumes of a particular class of pesticide preparations when applying them to agricultural land. Regular control of groundwater quality is necessary. It is necessary to monitor pesticide contamination of groundwater and other environmental objects by pesticides. The results of new analyses on pesticide contamination of environmental objects should be compared with the maximum permissible concentration (MPC). If the levels of pesticide pollution of the environment will increase (exceeding the MPC), it is necessary to reduce the pressure of pesticides on agricultural land and replace old pesticides with new ones. It is necessary to form a balanced system of environmental management in the context of sustainable development and the introduction of environmental and innovative technologies in agriculture, as well as modern mechanisms of national environmental policy.

Keywords

• ground waters
• organochloric pesticids
• processes
• methodology