OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES
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Assessing the source and fate of pesticides in the environment is vital for improving European water management policies and remediation actions. Although compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) has proved to be a valuable tool to identify sources and track and quantify pollutant degradation in environmental systems, its application to pesticides is still emerging.
The main objective of ISOTOPEST is to tackle analytical and mechanistic issues that currently limit the application of CSIA for assessing the fate of pesticides in contaminated sites.
This project will thus contribute to the competitiveness of Europe in environmental monitoring, risk assessment and contamination mitigating concepts of pesticides.
WP1 ‒ Analytical challenge: pre-treatment and isotope methods for unexplored pesticides
WP1 ‒ Analytical challenge: pre-treatment and isotope methods for unexplored pesticides
There are currently some analytical challenges that restrict the possibilities to exploit the full potential of CSIA in pesticides for environmental applications, mainly related with low pesticide concentrations in environmental matrices.
The first WP of this project aims to overcome these barriers by optimizing extraction and analytical methods for measuring isotope ratios in pesticides of high environmental concern in Europe: the triazine herbicide atrazine and the organochlorine insecticide methoxychlor.
Specific Objectives:
Development and validation of pre-treatment techniques for the extraction of the selected pesticides from water and soil samples
Developement and validation of multi-isotope analysis methods of the selected pesticides
WP2 ‒ Processes challenge: isotope fractionation during biodegradation of target pesticides
WP2 ‒ Processes challenge: isotope fractionation during biodegradation of target pesticides
Understanding the processes of transformation of pesticides and their associate isotope fractionations is crucial to give a sound base on CSIA application in real case studies. Nevertheless, the database of isotope fractionations associated to different transformation reactions for each pesticide is extremely incomplete.
The second WP of this project aims to increase this database by performing laboratory experiments for assessing degradation of atrazine and methoxychlor.
Specific Objectives:
To study at lab scale the pathways, mechanisms, and isotope effects of transformation of the target pesticides
WP3 ‒ Field application challenge: CSIA to assess the fate of two pesticides in two field sites
WP3 ‒ Field application challenge: CSIA to assess the fate of two pesticides in two field sites
To take the next step and bring CSIA of pesticides to the field, the third WP of this project is focused on application of CSIA in two contaminated sites for assessing the fate of the target pesticides (atrazine and methoxychlor) and their metabolites. This will provide a further demonstration of the options of CSIA in the evaluation of strategies for natural or induced attenuation, and to trace the sources, sinks and fate of pesticides in the environment.
Specific Objectives:
Application of the methods for assessment of biodegradation processes into two field site studies:
Atrazine contaminated site: a highly saline lake-aquifer system
Methoxychlor contaminated site: a fractured multi-contaminant aquifer
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