Geographical Distribution and Pattern of Pesticides in Danish Drinking Water 2002-2018: Reducing Data Complexity

Pesticides are a large and heterogenous group of chemicals with a complex geographic distribution in the environment. The purpose of this study was to explore the geographic distribution of pesticides in Danish drinking water and identify potential patterns in the grouping of pesticides. Our data in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-01, Vol.19 (2), p.823
Main Authors: Skaarup, Carina, Wodschow, Kirstine, Voutchkova, Denitza D, Schullehner, Jörg, Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole, Andersen, Helle Raun, Hansen, Birgitte, Ersbøll, Annette Kjær
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer
Chemicals
Complexity
Denmark
Drinking behavior
Drinking water
Drinking Water - analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Epidemiology
Factor analysis
Food
Geographical distribution
Geography
Herbicides
Herbicides - analysis
Leukemia
Mapping
Metabolites
Organophosphates
Pesticides
Pesticides - analysis
Quality standards
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water quality
Water supply
Water utilities
Waterworks
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Summary:Pesticides are a large and heterogenous group of chemicals with a complex geographic distribution in the environment. The purpose of this study was to explore the geographic distribution of pesticides in Danish drinking water and identify potential patterns in the grouping of pesticides. Our data included 899,169 analyses of 167 pesticides and metabolites, of which 55 were identified above the detection limit. Pesticide patterns were defined by (1) pesticide groups based on chemical structure and pesticide-metabolite relations and (2) an exploratory factor analysis identifying underlying patterns of related pesticides within waterworks. The geographic distribution was evaluated by mapping the pesticide categories for groups and factor components, namely those detected, quantified, above quality standards, and not analysed. We identified five and seven factor components for the periods 2002-2011 and 2012-2018, respectively. In total, 16 pesticide groups were identified, of which six were representative in space and time with regards to the number of waterworks and analyses, namely benzothiazinone, benzonitriles, organophosphates, phenoxy herbicides, triazines, and triazinones. Pesticide mapping identified areas where multiple pesticides were detected, indicating areas with a higher pesticide burden. The results contribute to a better understanding of the pesticide pattern in Danish drinking water and may contribute to exposure assessments for future epidemiological studies.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph19020823