This study was undertaken to gain a better understanding
of short-term atrazine concentrations in drinking
water by developing an intensive sampling program
over a seven-month time period. Samples were analyzed
by a commercially available enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test method. Although
the authors found that the test kit approved by the US
Environmental Protection Agency was not accurate for
many of the waters tested because of water matrix
interferences, they were able to observe trends in
atrazine occurrence.
Surface waters were found to be more vulnerable to
atrazine contamination than were groundwater
sources, peak atrazine occurrence corresponded well to
runoff, and some drainage basins were more susceptible
to atrazine occurrence than others. In addition,
findings demonstrated that atrazine can be effectively
removed using activated carbon in granular form, powdered
form, or both. Specific knowledge of atrazine
occurrence will help utilities control atrazine more
efficiently and reduce treatment costs by applying activated
carbon during peak atrazine periods. Includes 19 references, tables, figures.