Alison Bleaney
The climate changes that are happening and previous and current land practices (with the use of pesticides and fertilisers) makes this information increasingly essential to all water users. I would ask that DPIW make this information available to the general public as soon as possible. Simazine, atrazine and hexazinone (triazines) continue to be used by agriculture, forestry, local councils and the public, simazine and atrazine especially have long half lives and even longer in groundwater.
These are the Californian findings from investigations into the extent of pesticide pollution of groundwater.
I look forward to hearing the results of the same type of investigations into Tasmanian groundwater; after they have been mapped and integrated into the water mapping for Tasmania. Increasingly Tasmanians are drinking groundwater which is running in their otherwise dry rivers.
The climate changes that are happening and previous and current land practices (with the use of pesticides and fertilisers) makes this information increasingly essential to all water users. I would ask that DPIW make this information available to the general public as soon as possible.
Simazine, atrazine and hexazinone (triazines) continue to be used by agriculture, forestry, local councils and the public, simazine and atrazine especially have long half lives and even longer in groundwater.
DPIW needs to make decisions on current pesticide use, based on adequate water catchments risk assessments, along with the potential risks to environmental and human health. They (along with ASCHEM) hold all the cards regarding pesticide regulation and useage, and water / soil / air pollution.
Dr Alison Bleaney
Study confirms pesticides persist in groundwater
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment Program (NWQAP) has tested groundwater at research sites in California, Maryland and Washington for the presence of 45 pesticides and 40 pesticide degradation products and the NWQAP’s studies confirm that “pesticides remain in ground water long after initial applications.” Insecticides, herbicides and fungicides were found to “move downward to reach the earth’s water table at significant concentrations” and, once there, “they can remain in that water for years.” The most commonly detected contaminants were triazines (including atrazine, produced by Syngenta) and chloroacetanilides (such as alachlor). NewsInferno reports that “pesticide degradation product concentrations greatly exceeded the concentrations from the originating compounds.”
MORE – See pesticideinfo.org on triazine and chloroacetanilide pesticide classes
