Cocktail of Pesticides in Swiss Rivers
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
Swiss watercourses contain a whole cocktail of pesticides. Of the 300 or so permitted and detectable active substances, over 100 have been discovered in water samples taken during an extensive screening process. Each sample contained, on average, 40 different substances, and in 78% of the samples, the combined pesticide concentration was over 1µg per litre. The threshold values dictated by the Swiss Water Protection Ordinance were found to have been exceeded for 31 substances. The possibility that plant protection products are having a detrimental effect on aquatic life cannot be ruled out.
This is the first time that such a thorough investigation into the presence of pesticides in Swiss water bodies has been undertaken. In collaboration with five Cantons, Eawag was commissioned by the Swiss government to test for every soluble synthetic plant protection product and biocide in five medium-sized rivers.
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Taxonomy
- Environmental Consequences
- River Engineering