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. 2021 Mar 28;18(7):3511.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073511.

Numerical Modeling of Groundwater Pollution by Chlorpyrifos, Bromacil and Terbuthylazine. Application to the Buñol-Cheste Aquifer (Spain)

Ricardo Pérez-Indoval  1 , Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri  1 , Eduardo Cassiraga  1 , María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero  1
Affiliations

Numerical Modeling of Groundwater Pollution by Chlorpyrifos, Bromacil and Terbuthylazine. Application to the Buñol-Cheste Aquifer (Spain)

Ricardo Pérez-Indoval et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Chlorpyrifos, Bromacil and Terbuthylazine are commonly used as insecticides and herbicides to control weeds and prevent non-desirable growth of algae, fungi and bacteria in many agricultural applications. Despite their highly negative effects on human health, environmental modeling of these pesticides in the vadose zone until they reach groundwater is still not being conducted on a regular basis. This work shows results obtained by version 5.08 of the Pesticide Root Zone Model (PRZM5) numerical model to simulate the fate and transport of Chlorpyrifos, Bromacil and Terbuthylazine between 2006 and 2018 inside the Buñol-Cheste aquifer in Spain. The model uses a whole set of parameters to solve a modified version of the mass transport equation considering the combined effect of advection, dispersion and reactive transport processes. The simulation process was designed for a set of twelve scenarios considering four application doses for each pesticide. Results show that the maximum concentration value for every scenario exceeds the current Spanish Maximum Concentration Limit (0.1 μg/L). Numerical simulations were able to reproduce concentration observations over time despite the limited amount of available data.

Keywords: Bromacil; Chlorpyrifos; Terbuthylazine; aquifer; numerical modeling; pesticides.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of pesticide observation wells inside the Buñol-Cheste Aquifer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Permeability map (left) and lithological map (right) of the Buñol-Cheste area.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Temporal evolution of Chlorpyrifos, Bromacil and Terbuthylazine concentrations in the Buñol-Cheste Aquifer from 2011 to 2014.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chlorpyrifos simulations in Well 08.140.CA002 (La Purísima) in 2006–2016.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Chlorpyrifos calibrated simulation at Well CA002 (La Purísima) considering an annual application equal to 0.94 kg/ha between 2006 and 2016.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Bromacil simulations in Well CA142 (Llano de Cuarte) in 2008–2018.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Bromacil calibrated simulation at Well CA142 (Llano de Cuarte) considering an annual application equal to 0.645 kg/ha between 2008 and 2018.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Terbuthylazine simulations in Well 08.140.CA142 (Llano de Cuarte) in 2006–2016.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Terbuthylazine calibrated simulation at Well 08.140.CA142 (Llano de Cuarte) considering an annual application equal to 0.20 kg/ha between 2008 and 2018.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Box plot diagram of Chlorpyrifos simulations in Well 08.140.CA002 (La Purísima) in 2006–2016.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Box plot diagram of Bromacil simulations in Well 08.140.CA142 (Llano de Cuarte) in 2008–2018.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Box plot diagram of Terbuthylazine simulations in Well 08.140.CA142 (Llano de Cuarte) in 2008–2018.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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