Abstract
Water is of extreme importance to living creatures. However, due to human’s action, that resource has been contaminated by different compounds, among them, the pesticides. Whenever in water, pesticides can cause some damage to aquatic environments or to those who consume it. In this way, it becomes a concern if the water treatment systems can remove these pollutants from water. In this perspective, the objective of this work is to investigate whether conventional water treatment has the ability to remove the pesticides atrazine, ametryn, malathion and chlorpyrifos. According to the results, it was observed that the conventional treatment after filtration was not capable of removing those pesticides with efficiency, being the organophosphorus (malathion and chlorpyrifos) removed in a higher percentage than the triazines (atrazine and ametryn). Postchlorination reduced the pesticides levels, however were generated the byproducts malaoxon and ametryn sulphoxide, which caused a greater acetilcolinesterase inhibition. Thus, advanced steps are required to the conventional treatment to remove these persistent contaminants.
Highlights
Due to its physical and chemical properties, water was essential for the emergence of the first living organisms, as well as their evolution
The main objective of this work is to verify, by means of simulations, whether a conventional Brazilian water treatment system could remove some selected pesticide, namely, atrazine and ametryn, which belong to the class of triazines, and the organophosphorus pesticides, malathion and chlorpyrifos (Figure 1)
All results considered in this study meet the standards for turbidity and apparent color, set forth in Brazilian legislation from the Ministry of Health for drinking water standards. These were the parameters used in the pesticide removal test in the simulation of conventional water treatment
Summary
Due to its physical and chemical properties, water was essential for the emergence of the first living organisms, as well as their evolution It is the most abundant compound in living systems, accounting for ~70% or more of the weight of most organisms, and it plays important roles in their metabolisms. Pesticides are chemical compounds used to kill different kinds of pests that cause damage to crop, such as insects, fungi and undesirable plants (weeds)[3], as well as being used to protect food products during processing, storage and transport[4]. Pesticides, due to their nature, are potentially toxic to other organisms, including humans[3]
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