Environmental Chemistry and Engineering

This study assessed pesticide contaminations using passive samplers in two river systems in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. The two river systems are downstream of Mt. Kitanglad watershed (~3000 m elevation). The river water transverse along farms and plantations are mostly utilized by agro-industrial productions. The agricultural surface runoffs then drain towards the Cagayan de Oro River. Study was conducted last August to September 2017, almost two months after the rainy season starts. Analytical instruments used were HPLC and GC-MS MS. Results showed low concentrations of banned pesticides in these two river systems. These concentrations maybe considered insignificant to some, as income from agribusiness is considered more important. But it is worth looking into. It is necessary to educate and make the farmers aware that these organic pesticides were banned for almost two decades. These were banned because these were proven to persist, bio-accumulate and have adverse effect to human and the environment. The government should look into the ethical issues of using banned pesticides. Is using these banned organic pesticides worth the risk to human health and environmental degradation? It should be noted that agriculture contributed to 9.5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as compared to other sectors, service (57%) and industry (33.5%). It is recommended to conduct further study on pesticide assessment during or right after the dry season as this is the time farmers apply pesticides. Responsible government agencies should monitor pesticides application in farms and residues in agricultural surface run off. It is highly recommended to strictly implement existing environmental laws and policies.

 

Framework of the study.

 

Recent Publications

 

1.Salingay M L B, Pathirana A, Rijke J, Steen P van der, Zevenbergen C, Nguyen Q and Vinh K Q (2017) Water quality assessment in selected surface waters in Can-Tho City, Vietnam. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences 12(18):4555-4561.

 

2.Salingay M L B, Pathirana A, Rijke J, Steen P van der, Zevenbergen C, Nguyen Q and Vinh K Q (2017) Microbiological assessment of surface waters and health awareness of four vulnerable communities in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences 12(10):2644-2650.

 

3.Nguyen H Q, Radhakrishnan M, Huynh T T N, Baino Salingay M L, Ho L P, Steen P V and Pathirana A (2017) Water quality dynamics of urban water bodies during flooding in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Water 9(4):260.