Pesticides in Drinking Water—A Review

Increased global pesticide use threatens aquatic environments and human health. Pesticides degrade water quality, entering via agricultural runoff and industrial waste. While traditional treatments can be expensive and polluting, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) show promise in addressing water pollutants, including pesticides. This review explores these challenges and solutions.
Author(s): Syafrudin, Muhammad; Kristanti, Risky Ayu; Yuniarto, Adhi; Hadibarata, Tony; Rhee, Jongtae; Al-onazi, Wedad A.; Algarni, Tahani Saad; Almarri, Abdulhadi H.; Al-Mohaimeed, Amal M.
Published: 2021
Language: English
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Additional Information

The ubiquitous problem of pesticide in aquatic environment are receiving worldwide concern as pesticide tends to accumulate in the body of the aquatic organism and sediment soil, posing health risks to the human. Many pesticide formulations had introduced due to the rapid growth in the global pesticide market result from the wide use of pesticides in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The occurrence of pesticides in the water body is derived by the runoff from the agricultural field and industrial wastewater. Soluble pesticides were carried away by water molecules especially during the precipitation event by percolating downward into the soil layers and eventually reach surface waters and groundwater. Consequently, it degrades water quality and reduces the supply of clean water for potable water. Long-time exposure to the low concentration of pesticides had resulted in non-carcinogenic health risks. The conventional method of pesticide treatment processes encompasses coagulation-flocculation, adsorption, filtration and sedimentation, which rely on the phase transfer of pollutants. Those methods are often incurred with a relatively high operational cost and may cause secondary pollution such as sludge formation. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are recognized as clean technologies for the treatment of water containing recalcitrant and bio-refractory pollutants such as pesticides. It has been adopted as recent water purification technology because of the thermodynamic viability and broad spectrum of applicability. This work provides a comprehensive review for occurrence of pesticide in the drinking water and its possible treatment.