A University of Otago study investigating chemicals in New Zealand waterways has found evidence of pesticides banned in some European countries present in agricultural streams.
Among the results, the researchers confirmed the presence of up to six different pesticides at a single site in their study of 36 agricultural streams in Waikato, Southland, Otago and Canterbury. All these pesticides are still being used in New Zealand.
They found two or more pesticides at 75 per cent of the sites, and four or more pesticides at just under 40 per cent of sites. The research Current-use pesticides in New Zealand streams has been published in the Science Direct journal Environmental Pollution.
The study was led by Associate Professor Kimberly Hageman (Utah State University, formerly Department of Chemistry, University of Otago) and Associate Professor Christoph Matthaei of Otago’s Department of Zoology.
Associate Professor Matthaei says although New Zealand has programmes in place to regularly monitor pesticides in groundwater, very little is known about pesticides present in surface waters such as streams and rivers.
Continue reading at University of Otago
Image via University of Otago
