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Water quality of the main tributaries of the Paraná Basin: glyphosate and AMPA in surface water and bottom sediments

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Abstract

The Paraná River, the sixth largest in the world, is the receptor of pollution loads from tributaries traversing urban and industrialized areas plus agricultural expanses, particularly so in the river’s middle and lower reaches along the Argentine sector. In the present study, we analyzed and discussed the main water quality parameters, sediment compositions, and content of the herbicide glyphosate plus its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in water and sediments. Samples were obtained from distal positions in the principal tributaries of the Paraná and the main watercourse during surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012 to monitor the basin. Only 15 % of the water samples contained detectable concentrations of glyphosate at an average concentration of 0.60 μg/L, while no detectable levels of AMPA were observed. The herbicide and metabolite were primarily present in sediments of the middle and lower stretch’s tributaries, there occurring at a respective average of 37 and 17 % in samples. The mean detectable concentrations measured were 742 and 521 μg/kg at mean, maximum, and minimum glyphosate/AMPA ratios of 2.76, 7.80, and 0.06, respectively. The detection of both compounds was correlated with the presence of sulfides and copper in the sediment matrix.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from UNLP PITAP-2010 and ANPCyT, PICT 2010-0891/PICT2012-3031. The authors wish to thank the Federico Leloir crew of the Prefectura Naval Argentina and the CIMA-UNLP laboratory team for their assistance, collaboration, and technical support. Dr. Donald F. Haggerty, a retired academic career investigator and native English speaker, edited the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones del Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    A. E. Ronco, D. J. G. Marino & C. D. Apartin

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    A. E. Ronco & D. J. G. Marino

  3. Prefectura Naval Argentina, Dirección de Protección Ambiental, Av. E. Madero, 235, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M. Abelando & P. Almada

Authors
  1. A. E. Ronco
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  2. D. J. G. Marino
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  3. M. Abelando
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  4. P. Almada
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  5. C. D. Apartin
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to A. E. Ronco or C. D. Apartin.

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A. E. Ronco, D. J. G. Marino and C. D. Apartin contributed equally to this work.

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Ronco, A.E., Marino, D.J.G., Abelando, M. et al. Water quality of the main tributaries of the Paraná Basin: glyphosate and AMPA in surface water and bottom sediments. Environ Monit Assess 188, 458 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5467-0

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