Determination of atrazine in rainfall and surface water by enzyme immunoassay

Dankwardt, A. . Lehrstuhl fuer Botanik; Wuest, S.; Elling, W.; Thurman, M.; Hock, B.

Determination of atrazine in rainfall and surface water by enzyme immunoassay

1994

Dankwardt, A. (Technische Univ. Muenchen, Freising (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Botanik) | Wuest, S. | Elling, W. | Thurman, M. | Hock, B.

Rainwater and surface water from four sites in Germany (Bavaria and Lower Saxony) were analyzed for atrazine by enzyme immunoassay from June 1990 until October 1992. The limit of quantification of the immunoassay was 0.02 microgram per litre with a middle of the test at 0.2 microgram per litre. About 60% of the samples contained measurable amounts of atrazine. Seasonal trends were observed, with the highest concentration in the summer months of up to 4 microgram per litre for rainwater and up to 15 microgram per litre for surface waters. The highest concentrations were found in agricultural areas, while in the investigated national parks up to 0.56 microgram per litre could be detected in rain warer. This points to long-range atmospheric transport from agricultural areas to pristine national parks. Samples from forest stands usually showed higher atrazine concentrations than samples from open fields. Deposition rates of 10 - 50 microgram per m** (2) per year were observed in the national parks and 10 - 180 microgram per m** (2) per year at the agricultural sites. Comparison of results obtained by enzyme immunoassay and GC/MS showed a good correlation of r = 0.95.

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