Analysis of selected herbicide metabolites in surface and ground water of the United States

One of the primary goals of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Laboratory in Lawrence, Kansas, is to develop analytical methods for the analysis of herbicide metabolites in surface and ground water that are vital to the study of herbicide fate and degradation pathways in the environment. Methods to measure metabolite concentrations from three major classes of herbicides ─ triazine, chloroacetanilide and phenyl-urea ─ have been developed. Methods for triazine metabolite detection cover nine compounds: six compounds are detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry; one is detected by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection; and eight are detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Two metabolites of the chloroacetanilide herbicides ─ ethane sulfonic acid and oxanilic acid ─ are detected by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Alachlor ethane sulfonic acid also has been detected by solid-phase extraction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Six phenylurea metabolites are all detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry; four of the six metabolites also are detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Additionally, surveys of herbicides and their metabolites in surface water, ground water, lakes, reservoirs, and rainfall have been conducted through the USGS laboratory in Lawrence. These surveys have been useful in determining herbicide and metabolite occurrence and temporal distribution and have shown that metabolites may be useful in evaluation of non-point-source contamination

Analysis of selected herbicide metabolites in surface and ground water of the United States

One of the primary goals of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Laboratory in Lawrence, Kansas, is to develop analytical methods for the analysis of herbicide metabolites in surface and ground water that are vital to the study of herbicide fate and degradation pathways in the environment. Methods to measure metabolite concentrations from three major classes of herbicides ─ triazine, chloroacetanilide and phenyl-urea ─ have been developed. Methods for triazine metabolite detection cover nine compounds: six compounds are detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry; one is detected by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection; and eight are detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Two metabolites of the chloroacetanilide herbicides ─ ethane sulfonic acid and oxanilic acid ─ are detected by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Alachlor ethane sulfonic acid also has been detected by solid-phase extraction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Six phenylurea metabolites are all detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry; four of the six metabolites also are detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Additionally, surveys of herbicides and their metabolites in surface water, ground water, lakes, reservoirs, and rainfall have been conducted through the USGS laboratory in Lawrence. These surveys have been useful in determining herbicide and metabolite occurrence and temporal distribution and have shown that metabolites may be useful in evaluation of non-point-source contamination

Reconnaissance Data for Selected Herbicides, Two Atrazine Metabolites, and Nitrate in Surface Water of the Midwestern United States, 1989-90

Water-quality data were collected from 147 rivers and streams during 1989-90 to determine the temporal and geographic distribution of selected preemergent herbicides, two atrazine metabolites, and nitrate in 10 Midwestern States. This report includes a description of the sampling design, data-collection techniques, laboratory and analytical methods, and a compilation of constituent concentrations and quality-assurance data. All water samples were collected by depth-integrating techniques at three to five locations across the wetted perimeter of each stream. Sites were sampled three times in 1989~before application of herbicides, during the first major runoff after application of herbicides, and in the fall during a low-flow period when most of the streamflow was derived from ground water. About 50 sites were selected by a stratified random procedure and resampled for both pre- and post-application herbicide concentrations in 1990 to verify the 1989 results. Laboratory analyses consisted of both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmation by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The data have been useful in studying herbicide transport, in comparison of the spatial distribution of the post-application concentrations of 11 herbicides and 2 atrazine metabolites (deethylatrazine and deisopropylatrazine) in streams and rivers at a regional scale, in examination of the annual persistence of herbicides and two atrazine metabolites in surface water, and in assessment of atrazine metabolites as indicators of surface- and ground-water interaction