Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Drinking water and pesticides in banana growing areas Contamination of water sources with ethylenethiourea (ETU) in Matina County - Costa Rica

Skytt, Åsa LU (2011) MVEK02 20111
Studies in Environmental Science
Abstract (Swedish)
Costa Rica has an important banana-producing industry that requires vast amounts of pesticides. These can leak into the environment and cause health effects. The most widely used pesticide is mancozeb, which is rapidly degraded to the carcinogenic and potentially groundwater-contaminating metabolite ETU. This study was executed in Matina, one of the most densely banana-cultivated areas of Costa Rica. The water supply in 37 villages was surveyed and 136 drinking water samples from households where analysed for ETU. Large differences in drinking water control were observed in the villages. Although the majority of households are connected to communal distribution systems, the inhabitants of some villages are still dependent upon their own... (More)
Costa Rica has an important banana-producing industry that requires vast amounts of pesticides. These can leak into the environment and cause health effects. The most widely used pesticide is mancozeb, which is rapidly degraded to the carcinogenic and potentially groundwater-contaminating metabolite ETU. This study was executed in Matina, one of the most densely banana-cultivated areas of Costa Rica. The water supply in 37 villages was surveyed and 136 drinking water samples from households where analysed for ETU. Large differences in drinking water control were observed in the villages. Although the majority of households are connected to communal distribution systems, the inhabitants of some villages are still dependent upon their own solutions for water supply such as private wells. ETU was found in some of the groundwater sources that were sampled. It was concluded that private wells were the most vulnerable to contamination, but even the water from two communal, deeper wells was affected. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Skytt, Åsa LU
supervisor
organization
course
MVEK02 20111
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Costa Rica, ethylenethiourea (ETU, drinking water, pesticieds, pollution, banana growing areas
language
English
id
2540465
date added to LUP
2012-06-01 13:16:54
date last changed
2012-06-01 14:33:20
@misc{2540465,
  abstract     = {{Costa Rica has an important banana-producing industry that requires vast amounts of pesticides. These can leak into the environment and cause health effects. The most widely used pesticide is mancozeb, which is rapidly degraded to the carcinogenic and potentially groundwater-contaminating metabolite ETU. This study was executed in Matina, one of the most densely banana-cultivated areas of Costa Rica. The water supply in 37 villages was surveyed and 136 drinking water samples from households where analysed for ETU. Large differences in drinking water control were observed in the villages. Although the majority of households are connected to communal distribution systems, the inhabitants of some villages are still dependent upon their own solutions for water supply such as private wells. ETU was found in some of the groundwater sources that were sampled. It was concluded that private wells were the most vulnerable to contamination, but even the water from two communal, deeper wells was affected.}},
  author       = {{Skytt, Åsa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Drinking water and pesticides in banana growing areas Contamination of water sources with ethylenethiourea (ETU) in Matina County - Costa Rica}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}