Presence of the β-triketone herbicide tefuryltrione in drinking water sources and its degradation product in drinking waters.
Triketone herbicides are becoming popular because of their herbicidal activity against sulfonylurea-resistant weeds. Among these herbicides, tefuryltrione (TFT) is the first registered herbicide for rice farming, and recently its distribution has grown dramatically. In this study, we developed analytical methods for TFT and its degradation product 2-chloro-4-methylsulfonyl-3-[(tetrahydrofuran-2-yl-methoxy) methyl] benzoic acid (CMTBA). TFT was found frequently in surface waters in rice production areas at concentrations as high as 1.9 μg/L. The maximum observed concentration was lower than but close to 2 μg/L, which is the Japanese reference concentration of ambient water quality for pesticides. However, TFT was not found in any drinking waters even though the source waters were purified by conventional coagulation and filtration processes; this was due to chlorination, which transforms TFT to CMTBA. The conversion rate of TFT to CMBA on chlorination was almost 100%, and CMTBA was stable in the presence of chlorine. Moreover, CMTBA was found in drinking waters sampled from household water taps at a similar concentration to that of TFT in the source water of the water purification plant. Although the acceptable daily intake and the reference concentration of CMTBA are unknown, the highest concentration in drinking water exceeded 0.1 μg/L, which is the maximum allowable concentration for any individual pesticide and its relevant metabolites in the European Union Drinking Directive.
College of Science and Engineering, Kanto Gakuin University, Mutsuura higashi 1-50-1, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-8501, Japan. Electronic address: motoyuki@kanto-gakuin.ac.jp.
Motoyuki
M
Kamata
Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health, 2-3-6 Minami, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0197 Japan.
Mari
M
Asami
Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8, Sapporo, 060-8628, Japan.
Yoshihiko
Y
Matsui
D000383:Agriculture; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D054879:Halogenation; D006540:Herbicides / Q000032:analysis*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D013450:Sulfones / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
D060766:Drinking Water; D006540:Herbicides; D010575:Pesticides; D013450:Sulfones; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C000619648:tefuryltrione
Chlorination by-products; HPPD inhibitor; Pesticide; River water; Tap water