Simplified Resin Sorption for Measuring Selected Contaminants

In an extensive study initiated at Iowa State Univ. the concentrations of three pesticides–atrazine, DDE, and dieidrin–in various surface, subsurface, and finished waters were measured. Surface water from every major watershed in Iowa were found to have appreciable levels of contamination, with seasonal and climatic fluctuations that were consistent with an agricultural runoff model. Waters from shallow wells and from water‐treatment plants were also contaminated. The contamination was either not detected or found at < 1 ng/l in water from deep wells located outside the alluvial plain of contaminated rivers. Water‐treatment processes, even charcoal‐bed filtration, employed at one modern treatment plant, were shown to be ineffective in reducing the pesticide concentration. Other applications and tests of the resin‐sorption method for monitoring organic contaminants are presented herein.