Air Samples Capture More Pesticides

Last year, residues of fifteen different pesticides were found in the north west of Skåne, in southern Sweden. In the air samples, the highest levels found, were of two common pesticides for weeds, prosulfocarb and pendimetalin.

“By measuring also in the air, we capture more substances – substances that have other properties than the ones we usually find in water samples. It gives us a better idea of the distribution of pesticides in the landscape,” says Jenny Kreuger, scientist and director of the Centre for Chemical Pesticides at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

Just as previous years, rainwater samples contained a wide range of pesticides forbidden to use in Sweden. In samples of surface water, the scientists found twenty-three substances at such high concentration that it can imply negative effects. The corresponding number of findings in groundwater was considerably lower.

“The total amount of pesticides found in surface water and groundwater, respectively, are the same as last year, but by using a more sensitive method of analysis, we have detected a few more substances this year,” says Jenny Kreuger.

According to their report*, the concentration of pesticides in surface water peaks during short periods by as much as one hundred times above the average level. A more frequent sampling would capture this variation in time better.

*The annual environmental monitoring of pesticides is commissioned by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and is conducted by scientists at SLU.