Pesticide Residues in Water and Sediment

Abstract

The term pesticide refers to all chemical compounds predominantly used in agriculture for the control of the pathogens, weeds and pests. In order to intensify the agricultural production the use of pesticides has increased over the years in many developing countries. Since the monitoring of the presence of pesticides is rarely conducted and fairly difficult, the potential hazardous effects towards the human health, the biodiversity and the environment are hard to anticipate. The aim of the study is to provide a preliminary assessment of the situation by looking for the presence of pesticides in the water and sediment of the lake used for the irrigation. SPE and LC-MS/MS were used to purify and analyze the samples for the presence of 150 pesticides. The nicosulfuron was detected in the unusually high concentrations in water (97.80 µg/L) and the sediment (224 µg/kg).