Environmental Risk assessment of plant protection products uses in Tunisian agriculture

OBJECTIVES\r\n• to characterize the potential risk of groundwater contamination from synthetic pesticides used in the northwest of Tunisia. \r\n• develop survey among local farmers to collect data on farming practices and pesticide use.\r\n• use Pesticide Environmental Risk Indicator (PERI) model to calculate an environmental risk score for each used active substance.\r\n\r\nHIGHLIGHTS \r\n• Fifteen water samples (surface and groundwater) were collected and analyzed with the LC-MS/MS.\r\n• 16% of studied active substances have a high leaching potential and are likely to contaminate groundwater by leaching\r\n• Eight active substances had an ERS that reached a value of 5 or more. \r\n• Off-target movement of chemicals may present a risk to the environment due to the intrinsic toxicity of this class of pesticides.