Ground and surface water of the regions Petrolina (PE) and Juazeiro (BA).
Ferracini V. L., Pessoa M. C. Y. P., Silva A. S., Spadotto C. A.
Author Affiliation: Química Orgânica, Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Jaguariúna, SP, Brazil.
Pesticidas - Revista de Ecotoxicologia e Meio Ambiente 11 : 1-16
Abstract : The contamination potential of groundwater and surface water in the sub-middle portion of San Francisco river basin in the regions of Petrolina (Pernambuco) and Juazeiro (Bahia) in Brazil was analysed for pesticides applied in mango and grape cultivation by following the criteria of Environmental Protection Agency and to the index of GUS and criteria proposed by GOSS. All the criteria used take into consideration the applied products properties, by not demanding high costs nor a long time for rising information and evaluating contamination potential. The results obtained reinforce the importance of information publication on the physicochemical properties of pesticides, especially data on adsorption coefficient, whose values allow to predict the pesticide mobility in soils. This factor combined with the pesticide degradation time to the half of its initial concentration (half life) in the soil, provides information on pesticide water contamination potential. The results of this work allow the identification of the pesticides with higher contamination potential to water resources, which should be prioritized in environmental monitoring in loco.