Journal of Hazardous Materials 263P (2013) 95–104 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Hazardous Materials jou rn al hom epage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhazmat Screening of currently used pesticides in water, sediments and biota of the Guadalquivir River Basin (Spain) Ana Masiá ∗ , Julián Campo, Pablo Vázquez-Roig, Cristina Blasco, Yolanda Picó Food and Environmental Safety Research Group, Department of Medicine Preventive, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain h i g h l i g h t s • Spatial and temporal distribution of currently used pesticides in the Guadalquivir River Basin. • Organophosphorus > triazines > carbamates are the most commonly detected. • Transformation products were found at higher concentrations than parent pesticides. • WWTP are an important source of pesticide to the environment. • Low accumulation levels in sediments and biota. a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 20 May 2013 Received in revised form 11 September 2013 Accepted 17 September 2013 Available online 21 September 2013 Keywords: Pesticides Water Sediment Fish Spatial distribution Temporal distribution a b s t r a c t The occurrence of 50 currently used pesticides and their transformation products in surface and waste waters, sediment and fish in the Guadalquivir River Basin was determined in 2010 and 2011. After selec- tive sample extraction, pesticides were identified and quantified by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The contamination profile in water and sediments is marked by the presence of organophosphorus and triazines. Transformation products were even at higher con- centrations than parent pesticides. A wider range of pesticides was present in water than in sediments but none of them were detected in fish. The mean concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 13.0 ng/L in water and from 0.1 to 13.2 ng/g d.w. in sediment. The spatial distribution of most pesticides was consistent with the agricultural activities of the area or their urban applications. The waste water treatment plant effluents that impact the river are minor sources for few pesticides but for most of them run-off would be the most important contribution. The temporal distribution showed differences between both sampling campaigns related to the river flow. The low-flow produced a pesticide concentration effect, generating higher levels in water and accumulation in sediments. This forecasts a hazard in future scenarios if the current situation of the climate change and water scarcity evolves to more critical conditions highlighting the need of these monitoring studies. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Water is the primary pathway of pesticides dissemination from their application areas to other parcels of the environment [1,2]. As a result, the presence of pesticides - especially those polar and highly soluble- in surface, waste and groundwaters, typically in the lower ng L -1 concentration ranges, have been reported [3–7]. Some of these pesticides are bioaccumulative and due to their vertebrate and non-vertebrate toxicity can affect non-target organisms [8]. In Europe, there are few studies that determine the occurrence of currently used pesticides in environmental compartments other ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 963544118; fax: +34 963544954. E-mail address: Ana.Masia@uv.es (A. Masiá). than water and most of them are erratic samplings performed to demonstrate the reliability of an analytical method but not system- atic studies evaluating pesticide occurrence and levels in a River Basin [2,9–11]. These studies, without being many, are more preva- lent in the United States (US) [12–19]. The Guadalquivir River, chosen as study case, is among the major freshwater sources of the European Basins and the Spain’s second longest river. Its natural environment is one of the most varied in Europe, with half of the continent’s plant species and nearly all those of the North African region [20]. Thus, maintain a good qual- ity of these ecosystems is of crucial interest. Because of its favorable climate and fertile soils, a wide range of crops are cultivated along the basin and more important, irrigated with its water. Despite its importance and to our knowledge, only few studies have been car- ried out in this River Basin. These reported the concentrations of 0304-3894/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.09.035