Agricultural pesticide residues of farm runoff in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

• Published in: Journal of environmental science and health. Part B, Pesticides, food contaminants, and agricultural wastes Pesticides, food contaminants, and agricultural wastes, 2012-04, Vol.47 (4), p.250-261
• Main Authors: Kuo, Jen-ni, Soon, Alicia Y, Garrett, Christine, Wan, Michael T. K, Pasternak, John P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: agricultural products; agricultural runoff; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; aquatic organisms; Biological and medical sciences; British Columbia; Crop residues; crops; Currently used pesticides; diazinon; Drainage; drainage channels; endosulfan; environmental assessment; Environmental Monitoring; farms; fruit trees; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geologic Sediments - analysis; guidelines; irrigation; Okanagan Valley; pesticide residues; Pesticide Residues - analysis; Pesticides; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; rain; rainfall events; risk assessment; Runoff; Sediments; Soil Pollutants - analysis; soil sampling; streams; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 1532-4109; 0360-1234; 1532-4109
• DOI: 10.1080/03601234.2012.636588

The objectives of this study were to determine environmental occurrence and concentrations of selected currently-used-pesticides and some transformation products in agricultural farms in the Okanagan Valley (OKV), and to conduct a simple risk assessment of environmental pesticides levels detected in OKV on non-target aquatic organisms. The OKV is the tree fruit country of the Province of British Columbia where considerable amount of pesticides are applied annually. Water, sediment and soil samples were collected at eleven sites in early June and late September following rainfall events and/or extended periods of irrigation from drainage ditches and/or from small streams. Undisturbed reference sites were also sampled. Study results showed that forty of the eighty chemicals analyzed, including organochlorine, nitrogen-containing and organophosphate pesticides commonly used for OKV crops, were detected in runoff and small stream water samples. Among which, endosulfan-sulfate was the most frequently detected chemical. Also, azinophos-methyl (0.699–25.5 ng/L), diazinon (0.088–214 ng/L) exceeded, and α-, β- endosulfan, endosulfan sulphate approached the guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.