THE USE OF SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY IN THE DETERMINATION OF A PESTICIDE, ATRAZINE, IN IOWA LAKES AND WETLANDS

 Jacob J. Becker, Timothy M. Schramm, and Duane E. Bartak.

   Levels of Atrazine in an Iowa lake and wetlands area were tested using a previously developed technique integrating solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography.  Sample sites were Silver Lake in Delhi, Iowa, and the Beaver Valley Wetlands, northwest of Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Water samples were filtered to remove plankton, sediment, and other debris.  Samples were processed via solid phase extraction concentrating the atrazine 1000 or 1200 fold.  Samples then underwent high-performance liquid chromatography analysis to determine the levels of atrazine present in each sample.  Pesticide levels could be detected as low as 0.04 part per billion (ppb) in lake and wetland samples.

This study was funded, in part, by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.