Page Content On this page:
Background
In the spring of 2012, 22 Oregon schools participated in the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) analysis of their drinking water. USDA's Monitoring Programs Division (Manassas, Virginia) is coordinating collection events like this in states across the country. In Oregon, all of the participating schools use groundwater wells as their source of drinking water and all are located in agricultural and rural areas. None of the 22 schools receive their drinking water from an off-site public water supply.
To assist participating Oregon schools, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Laboratory staff collected, packaged and shipped water samples from the schools, using sampling kits and instructions sent from USDA. Water samples were shipped to USDA's contract laboratory in Minnesota, where they were analyzed for 177 pesticides or pesticide breakdown products (pdf).
Purpose of sampling project
The purpose of this sampling project was to collect data on the national prevalence of pesticides and pesticide breakdown products in school well water. Participation in this project was voluntary and analytical results were provided to participating schools. The data collected in this project will be used for national research and risk assessments of these chemicals to specifically address the drinking water component for children during their developmental years. The data will be published in a nationwide summary produced by the USDA. The purpose of this summary is to describe and report on the collective test results in Oregon.
Summary information
Tables 1 and 2 below contain a basic summary of the results, which show that none of the pesticides or their breakdown products were found at levels that would cause a public health concern. The measured concentrations of pesticides or their breakdown products in the water are considered too low (parts per trillion range) to harm the health of children or school staff who drink it on a regular basis.
However, the detection of these pesticides in groundwater suggests that chemicals are getting into groundwater that is being used for drinking purposes. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recommends that schools consult with OHA and other experts to investigate how this is happening. State agency drinking water protection staff can assist the individual schools in developing a more detailed assessment of the sources of pesticides and develop a voluntary plan to minimize the applications and uses of these pesticides in the vicinity.
Table 3 below describes the common uses for the chemicals detected in Oregon school drinking water.
Table 4 below lists the 22 Oregon schools in the 2012 US Department of Agriculture study on pesticides in rural school drinking water. The table describes the location of each school, how many chemicals were detected in the water from each school, the names of the chemicals detected and whether or not levels of detected chemicals exceed health guidelines.
Conclusions
- None of the pesticides or their breakdown products were found at levels of concern for public health (based on the comparison of health screening levels for individual pesticide concentrations).
- Detection of multiple pesticides in the drinking water of some schools suggests that school drinking water in those locations may be influenced by chemicals used and applied on the surface.
Recommendations
- Schools with multiple pesticides detected in their drinking water should contact OHA (Tom Pattee 541-726-2587 x24) or other experts to investigate and learn more about the connection between surface and groundwater supplying their wells.
- Schools with multiple pesticides detected in their drinking water should contact the drinking water protection staff at DEQ (Sheree Stewart 503-229-5413) if they wish to initiate voluntary pesticide reduction efforts in their recharge area.
More information
Table 1. Summary information about pesticide and pesticide breakdown products in USDA school drinking water study (Oregon schools only)
| Schools tested |
22 |
| Schools with no pesticides detected |
11 |
| Schools with only 1 pesticide detected |
5 |
| Schools with 5 or more pesticides detected |
4 |
| Schools with at least one form of atrazine or atrazine breakdown product detected |
7 |
| Maximum number of pesticides detected in water from any one school |
12 |
Pesticides or pesticide breakdown products tested
(see full list - pdf) |
177 |
| Pesticides or pesticide breakdown products detected |
20 |
Table 2. Summary information about the 20 pesticides detected in Oregon school drinking water
| Chemical |
Number of
Schools with
Detections |
Percent of Schools
with Detections (Out
of 22 schools tested) |
Maximum
concentration
measured1 (ppt) |
Health Based
Screening
Value (ppt) |
Health Based
Screening
Value Source2 |
| ppt = Parts per trillion or nanograms per liter |
| 1Maximum concentration found at any of the 22 schools tested. All other results for a given contaminant were lower than this level. |
| 2Screening values were chosen according to the following order: First, the maximum contaminant level (MCL, explained below) was selected. Second, if an MCL wasn't available for a given chemical, OHA selected the lowest available health based value from the sources listed below. And third, some of the pesticide breakdown products (those marked with an *)did not have a screening value, and in these cases the MCL or screening value for the parent compound was chosen as a conservative substitute screening value. |
| *For these pesticide breakdown products, neither MCL nor any other screening value was available. In these cases the MCL or most health protective screening value for the parent compound was used as a substitute. |
| MCL = Environmental Protection Agency's Maximum Contaminant Level: This is a legally enforceable water quality standard for public drinking water systems. MCLs are usually expressed as parts per million, but because these results were measured in parts per trillion, MCLs were multiplied by 1,000,000 so that they could be directly compared with the results without using decimal points. |
| CA MCL = California MCL: This is a legally enforceable water quality standard in public drinking water for the state of California that is not enforced at the federal level. |
| USGS HBSL = United States Geological Survey's Health-Based Screening Level: This is not a legally enforceable standard. This is a human health risk-based screening value calculated using EPA's methods for developing lifetime health advisories. |
| EPA HHBP = EPA's Human Health Benchmarks for Pesticides in drinking water: These values are not legally enforceable but were developed by the EPA as human health-based screening values for drinking water. |
| EPA RSL = EPA's Regional Screening Levels for residential tap water: These values are not legally enforceable but they are human health risk-based concentrations for drinking water developed by the branch of the EPA that does clean-up at hazardous waste sites. |
| Herbicides |
| Alachlor or alachlor breakdown products |
| Alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) |
3 |
14 |
76 |
2,000 |
MCL* |
| Alachlor oxanilic acid (OA) |
1 |
5 |
4.8 |
2,000 |
MCL* |
| Atrazine or atrazine breakdown products |
| Atrazine |
3 |
14 |
54 |
3,000 |
MCL |
| Desethyl atrazine |
7 |
32 |
310 |
3,000 |
MCL* |
| Desethyl-desisopropyl atrazine |
2 |
9 |
170 |
100,000 |
USGS HBSL |
| Desisopropyl atrazine |
3 |
14 |
35 |
3,000 |
MCL* |
| Hydroxy atrazine |
1 |
5 |
2 |
70,000 |
EPA HHBP |
| Metolachlor or metolachlor breakdown products |
| Metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) |
4 |
18 |
330 |
700,000 |
USGS HBSL* |
| Metolachlor oxanilic acid (OA) |
2 |
9 |
28 |
700,000 |
USGS HBSL* |
| Norflurazon or Norflurazon breakdown products |
| Norflurazon |
1 |
5 |
8 |
10,000 |
USGS HBSL |
| Norflurazon desmethyl |
2 |
9 |
27 |
10,000 |
USGS HBSL* |
| Other herbicides |
| Bentazon |
1 |
5 |
290 |
18,000 |
CA MCL |
| Bromacil |
3 |
14 |
270 |
70,000 |
USGS HBSL |
| 2,4-D |
1 |
5 |
7.3 |
70,000 |
MCL |
| Diuron |
4 |
18 |
44 |
2,000 |
USGS HBSL |
| Imazapyr |
1 |
5 |
130 |
17,500,000 |
EPA HHBP |
| Prometon |
2 |
9 |
0.3 |
190,000 |
EPA RSL |
| Propazine |
3 |
14 |
9.8 |
100,000 |
USGS HBSL |
| Simazine |
2 |
9 |
2.6 |
4,000 |
MCL |
| Insecticide |
Imidacloprid (for sucking and some
chewing insects like fleas and termites) |
1 |
5 |
13 |
399,000 |
EPA HHBP |
Table 3. Common uses for the chemicals detected in Oregon school drinking water
| Chemical |
Potential Contaminant Sources, Land Uses, Applications and Other Notes |
Primary Uses In Oregon
and Crop Types |
| Herbicides |
| 2,4-D |
Agriculture, residential, recreation, utilities, forestry |
Lawns, turf, orchards, vegetables, wheat, grasses, canals, ditches, fence lines |
| Alachlor |
Agriculture, forestry |
Corn, sorghum, beans, trees |
| Atrazine |
Agriculture, residential, recreation, forestry (controls weeds, broadleaf, grasses) |
Grassland, corn, recreation areas, sorghum, home lawns |
| Bentazon |
Agriculture, residential, recreation (controls broadleaf, sedge weeds) |
Soybeans, corn, sorghum, peanuts, lawns |
| Bromacil |
Agriculture, utilities (controls weeds, brush) |
Non-crop areas, fence lines, right-of-ways |
| Diuron |
Agriculture, utilities, recreation (controls weeds, mosses, grasses) |
Citrus, grass seed, berry crops, vines, wheat, flowers, apple, mint, right-of-ways, pools |
| Imazapyr |
Agriculture, residential, utilities, forestry (controls weeds, grasses) |
Corn, right-of-ways, home lawns, non-crop areas, tree crops, nurseries, pasture |
| Metolachlor |
Agriculture (controls grasses, broadleaf) |
Corn, sorghum |
| Norflurazon |
Agriculture, utilities |
Cranberry, filberts, fruits, nuts, berry crops, fence lines, ditches |
| Prometon |
Agriculture, utilities (non-selective herbicide) |
Non-crop areas, right-of-ways |
| Propazine |
Agriculture (controls annual grasses, broadleafs) |
Ornamentals, sorghum, garden vegetables |
| Simazine |
Agriculture, residential, recreation |
Corn, turf, nuts, apple, home lawns, berry crops, tree nurseries, golf courses, cherry, seed crops, plum, peach, ponds |
| Insecticide |
| Imidacloprid |
Agriculture, residential, recreation |
Cereals, fruits, turf, leafy vegetables, pet flea control, nuts, beans, berry crops, potato, ornamentals, flowers, corn, tomato |
Table 4: USDA school results by school
| School Name |
City |
Sample Date |
Total Detections |
Chemical(s) Detected |
Levels of Chemicals Above Health Guidelines? |
| Pinehurst School |
Ashland |
4/11/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| North Marion SD #15 High School |
Aurora |
2/21/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| North Marion SD #15 Intermediate School |
Aurora |
2/21/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Bridges Academy |
Bend |
4/16/2012 |
1 |
Desethyl atrazine |
No |
| Triangle Lake School |
Blachly |
4/9/2012 |
1 |
Imazpyr |
No |
| Brookings Head Start |
Brookings |
4/11/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Dixie Elementary |
Corvallis |
4/9/2012 |
12 |
Atrazine, Bromacil, Desethyl atrazine, Desethyl-desisopropyl atrazine, Desisopropyl atrazine, Diuron, Imidacloprid, Metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Norflurazon, Norflurazon desmethyl, Propazine, Simazine |
No |
| Fairplay Elementary |
Corvallis |
4/9/2012 |
12 |
Alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Atrazine, Desethyl atrazine, Desethyl-desisopropyl atrazine, Desisopropyl atrazine, Diuron, Hydroxy atrazine, Metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Norflurazon desmethyl, Prometon, Propazine, Simazine |
No |
| Mt View Elementary |
Corvallis |
4/9/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Eddyville Charter School |
Eddyville |
4/9/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Applegate Elementary |
Eugene |
4/9/2012 |
7 |
Atrazine, Bromacil, Desethyl atrazine, Desisopropyl atrazine, Diuron, Prometon, Propazine |
No |
| Crow High School |
Eugene |
4/9/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Rogue Community College |
Grants Pass |
4/11/2012 |
1 |
Desethyl atrazine |
No |
| Country Christian School |
Molalla |
4/16/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Rural Dell School |
Molalla |
4/16/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Clarkes School |
Mulino |
4/16/2012 |
1 |
Bromacil |
No |
| Ewing Elementary School |
Newberg |
4/16/2012 |
1 |
2,4-D |
No |
| Cairo Elementary |
Ontario |
4/24/2012 |
4 |
Alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Alachlor oxanilic acid (OA), Metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Metolachlor oxanilic acid (OA) |
No |
| Pioneer Elementary SD8C |
Ontario |
4/24/2012 |
5 |
Alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Bentazon, Desethyl atrazine, Metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA), Metolachlor oxanilic acid (OA) |
No |
| Pleasant Valley Elementary School SD 28J |
Portland |
4/16/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Jewell School District #8 |
Seaside |
4/17/2012 |
0 |
None |
No |
| Sweet Home Charter School |
Sweet Home |
4/9/2012 |
2 |
Desethyl atrazine, Diuron |
No |
|