KNOWPEC work packages were focused on three main disciplines: Pesticide occurrence assessment, toxicity and environmental risks assessment of occurred pesticides and pesticide remediation by advanced water treatments.
Specifically, the work packages yielded the following scientific achievements:
Work package 1 developed and validated analytical methods for the determination of a number of pesticides in water samples, like samples of 10 wells in Northeastern Greece. Simultaneously, some pesticide analytical methods in water samples already used by CICA, were improved and implemented. Finally, secondees from CICA worked on the removal of terbuthylazine from agricultural wastewater in two different bioremediation systems.
Work package 2 involved undertaking a cumulative risk assessment for aquatic organisms using the measured pesticide data from Bolivian streams (Cuenca de Pucara, Cochabamba). It also included training activities in conducting ecotoxicity studies of pesticide mixtures, using representative pesticide-contaminated water samples from Costa Rica, and using these measured data to develop predictive cumulative risk assessments in surface waters (La Mula and Machuca-Jesús María).
Work package 3 research work focused on the use of solar radiation on the removal of the pesticides (naturally or in assisted processes). An important part of the experimentation was validated at pilot plant scale and on-site (Cochabamba, Bolivia). Among the processes studied, the use of some fertilizers as an iron source for the catalytic photo-Fenton reaction with solar radiation yielded good performances on pesticide depletion in waters.
At the same time, three multidisciplinary workshops were successfully organized, first in Costa Rica (February 2017), second in Argentina (February 2018) and third in Bolivia (February 2019). In all workshops, an average of between 25 to 100 researchers of different disciplines and society stakeholders (academic, government, private companies, agricultural organizations, etc.) participated in every session of the workshops.
Through secondments and workshops, KNOWPEC joined pesticide experts from Latin America together with Europeans, to study the whole pesticide chain (import-export, trade, application, plant protection-efficacy, residues, monitoring, remediation and risk). It planned different activities (research work, workshops, field trips, meetings with stakeholders, etc.) to gain a better understanding of both country-specific and common issues. The results were used to make a reliable diagnosis of the problem in selected areas by identifying the occurrence and fate of pesticides in natural waters, some toxicity evaluations and proposing general guidance for national pesticide prioritzation and monitoring scheme with the ultimate aim of protecting water bodies of LA countries.
Results from KNOWPEC have been presented at 8 international congresses specializing in pesticides pollution control and published in 8 in international peer-review journals.
