Prevalence of Neonicotinoids and Sulfoxaflor in Alluvial Aquifers in a High Corn and Soybean Producing Region of the Midwestern United States

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barnes KK ; Field RW ; Hladik ML ; Kolpin DW ; Thompson DA ; Vargo JD
• Description:
  Neonicotinoids have been previously detected in Iowa surface waters, but less is known regarding their occurrence in groundwater. To help fill this research gap, a groundwater study was conducted in eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota, a corn and soybean producing area with known heavy neonicotinoid use. Neonicotinoids were studied in alluvial aquifers, a hydrogeologic setting known to be vulnerable to surface-applied contaminants. Groundwater samples were analyzed from 40 wells for six neonicotinoid compounds (acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam), and sulfoxaflor. Samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with both direct aqueous injection and solid phase extraction methods. Neonicotinoids were prevalent in the alluvial aquifers with 73% of the wells having at least one neonicotinoid detection. Clothianidin (68%, max: 391.7 ng/L) was the most commonly detected, followed by imidacloprid (43%, max: 6.7 ng/L) and thiamethoxam (3%, max: 0.2 ng/L). Acetamiprid, dinotefuran, sulfoxaflor, and thiacloprid were not detected during the study. The solid phase extraction method was more sensitive than direct aqueous injection, where only clothianidin detected in 23% of samples. SPE is the preferred method for detecting low concentrations of hydrophilic pesticides in water. This study documented that the combination of heavy chemical use overlying a hydrogeologic setting vulnerable to surface applied contaminants leads to transport of neonicotinoids into an important groundwater resource. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Insecticides Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Alluvial Aquifers Author Keywords: Neonicotinoids Chemicals Drinking Water Environmental Contamination Environmental Monitoring Ground Water Groundwater Hydrogeology Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals
• ISSN:
  0048-9697
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Iowa ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  782
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068115
• Citation:
  Sci Total Environ 2021 Aug; 782:146762
• Contact Point Address:
  Darrin A. Thompson, University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA, USA
• Email:
  Darrin-thompson-1@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Science of the Total Environment
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6ab09c59298f586d7def77d0db810fa04d9e7b46b6f8528e143434ec00a7c70344463d828f4882961cecdc69ce3fdde3009875af8ade005d401c1a56bd712a9f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230331/cdc_230331_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.02 MB ]