Terbuthylazine contamination of the aquifer north of Vicenza (north-east Italy).
OBJECTIVE
Agricultural practices can affect the quality of aquifers given that they are often located in cropped areas, so significant amounts of pesticides can be found in the water. In particular, triazine herbicides are always carefully checked by the official monitoring systems. The goal of this study was to find the mean concentration of terbuthylazine in an Italian aquifer and to set up a mass balance of this compound.


METHODS
Terbuthylazine concentrations in the aquifer were measured in various check-wells during 1998-2004, and the value of censored data were estimated using a Gompertz inverse in order to evaluate the overall mean concentration. The total terbuthylazine load in the recharge area was calculated on the basis of surveys of cropped land and the main weed control techniques applied in the area. Data on aquifer water balance were obtained from previous studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The herbicide terbuthylazine applied in the recharge zone can be transported by surface water and enter the aquifer. Detected concentrations were always well below the EU drinking water limit and the fraction that can reach the groundwater under normal cropping practices is small, very likely less than 0.2%.


CONCLUSIONS
The use and application rates of pesticides should be strictly regulated in recharge areas. Vegetated buffer strips can mitigate the impact of herbicides on surface water through reducing drift and early-spring runoff. Attention should also be paid to the fate of the main metabolites from soil biochemical processes.
Otto
Stefan
S
Istituto di Biologia Agro-ambientale e Forestale-Sezione di Legnaro, Agripolis, Viale dell'Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy. stefan.otto@ibaf.cnr.ir
Altissimo
Lorenzo
L
Zanin
Giuseppe
G
D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006540:Herbicides / Q000032:analysis*; D007558:Italy; D014227:Triazines / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
D006540:Herbicides; D014227:Triazines; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C037565:terbutylazine