Mobility of selected pesticides in groundwater

The use of pesticides in plant protection products could result in their occurrence in all environmental mediums. Due to the concern about their environmental impact, the presence of pesticides is monitored in air, soil, water, and also in food and tissues. Jaroslav Cerni Institute for the Development of Water Resources has conducted surface and groundwater sampling campaigns, in order to monitor fifteen different pesticides from priority and emerging substances lists. This paper is focused on the results of the groundwater sampling, where the most frequently detected pesticides were herbicide atrazine, fungicide carbendazim and insecticide carbofuran. In this paper, the fact that these pesticides were most frequently detected in groundwater was used for further research of their mobility. The most important process that influences the mobility of pesticides in the environment is the sorption. Therefore, sorption process was observed in the terms of linear sorption coefficient. Multiple linear regressions were used to establish the relationship between the linear sorption coefficient of each pesticide and various soil parameters, that have the highest impact on the sorption process. A thorough understanding of pesticides sorption behavior is crucial for predicting the movement rate of the pesticide in the environment. Information based on these processes will help with predicting the fate of pesticides in the groundwater, but also in the surface waters.