Occurrence and distribution of sulfonylurea and related herbicides in central Canadian surface waters 2006-2008.

John Struger, Josey Grabuski, Steve Cagampan, Myriam Rondeau, Ed Sverko, Chris Marvin

Index: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 87(4) , 420-5, (2011)

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Abstract

Surface water sampling in 2006-2008 measured the occurrence of sulfonylureas and related herbicides (SUs) during base flow conditions and wet weather events. Flumetsulam (29.2%), diuron (36.5%) and fomesafen (25.3%) were most frequently detected over the course of the study. Typical SU concentrations were in the low parts per trillion range; however, maximum concentrations of fomesafen (873 ng/L), linuron (856 ng/L) and diuron (2,900 ng/L) approached or exceeded 1 μg/L. The temporal trend in SUs showed a correlation with application periods. In general, detections of SUs were more frequent where rotation of row crops was more intense. Sampling during wet-weather events indicated potential for a range of SUs to be flushed into surface waters at relatively high concentrations.© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011