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Occurrence of Polar Organic Pollutants in Groundwater Bodies of Catalonia

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Book cover Experiences from Ground, Coastal and Transitional Water Quality Monitoring

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 43))

Abstract

Currently, about half of the groundwater bodies in Catalonia present a bad status in terms of water quantity and chemical quality. The latter is linked to land use, since groundwater contamination originates from agricultural, industrial, and urban activities. This chapter reviews the monitoring programs performed in up to 18 groundwater bodies of Catalonia with the common objective of assessing the occurrence and fate of different polar organic contaminants (PolOPs) in the subsurface. They include the evaluation of polar pesticides and the veterinary antibiotics sulfonamides in rural areas and the study of pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and UV filters in urban areas. A review of the analytical methodologies used for the analysis of these compounds in groundwater has been provided, and PolOP concentrations measured have been discussed in terms of spatial and temporal variability and linked to potential contamination sources.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been financially supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups “2014 SGR 418 - Water and Soil Quality Unit” and 2014 SGR 291 – ICRA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Cristina Postigo, María Jesús García-Galán, Marianne Köck-Schulmeyer & Damià Barceló

  2. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona. Emili Grahit 101, Edifici H2O, 17003, Girona, Spain

    Damià Barceló

Authors
  1. Cristina Postigo
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  2. María Jesús García-Galán
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  3. Marianne Köck-Schulmeyer
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  4. Damià Barceló
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Postigo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Quality and Monitori, Catalan Water Agency (ACA), Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Munné

  2. Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Ginebreda

  3. Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain

    Narcís Prat

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Postigo, C., García-Galán, M.J., Köck-Schulmeyer, M., Barceló, D. (2015). Occurrence of Polar Organic Pollutants in Groundwater Bodies of Catalonia. In: Munné, A., Ginebreda, A., Prat, N. (eds) Experiences from Ground, Coastal and Transitional Water Quality Monitoring. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 43. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2015_343

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