Screening of inorganic and organic contaminants in floodwater in paddy fields of Hue and Thanh Hoa in Vietnam

Abstract

In the rainy season, rice growing areas in Vietnam often become flooded by up to 1.5 m water. The floodwater brings contaminants from cultivated areas, farms and villages to the rice fields resulting in widespread contamination. In 2012 and 2013, the inorganic and organic contaminants in floodwater was investigated in Thanh Hoa and Hue. Water samples were taken at 16 locations in canals, paddy fields and rivers before and during the flood. In total, 940 organic micro-pollutants in the water samples were determined simultaneously by GC-MS method with automatic identification and quantification system (AIQS), while ICP-MS was used for determination of ten trace elements in the samples. The concentrations of 277 organic micro-pollutants and ten elements (As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn, Al) ranged from 0.01 to 7.6 μg L⁻¹ and 0.1 to 3170 μg L⁻¹, respectively, in the floodwater. Contaminants originated from industrial sources (e.g. PAH) were detected at low concentrations, ranged from 0.01 to 0.18 μg L⁻¹, while concentrations of pollutants originated from domestic sources (e.g. sterols, pharmaceuticals and personal care products and pesticides) were ranged from 0.01 to 2.12 μg L⁻¹. Isoprocarb had the highest detection frequency of 90%, followed by isoprothiolane (88%) and fenobucarb (71%). The results indicated that contaminants in floodwater come from untreated wastewater from villages, and the agricultural activities are the major sources of increased pesticides resuspended in the floodwater in this study.

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