PLEASE NOTE: THIS RECORD IS NOW RETIRED AND WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED. This is a standalone dataset for 1992 to 2008 and there have been no updates to the data since its original publication. These data are available on request.
This record is for Approval for Access product AfA197. A pesticide is defined under the Food and Environment Protection Act (1985) as “any substance, preparation or organism prepared or used for destroying any pest”. Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, molluscicides, rodenticides, growth regulators and masonry and timber preservatives. They are not confined to agriculture, but are also used on roads and rail tracks, in homes and gardens, as sheep dips, for the protection of public health, and for many other purposes.
The Agency’s monitoring for pesticides is guided by statutory requirements to monitor concentrations of specific pesticides listed in certain Directives. We also undertake non-statutory monitoring of pesticides, when investigating known or predicted local problems and pollution incidents.
Trace Organics are organic compounds (including pesticides) detectable at low levels. As with pesticides, our monitoring of these substances is guided by statutory requirements.
The dataset contains information on all pesticides and trace organics monitored by the Environment Agency. Monitoring frequency varies between sites and years. Monitoring covers fresh and saline surface waters, groundwater, discharges, sediments and biota. Please note: Limits of detection vary between laboratories. The data is extracted from the Environment Agency’s Water Information Management System (WIMS).
Data is available for monitoring between 1992 and 2008. The dataset holds each year’s pesticides and trace organics monitoring data. Some sites are identified as being monitored for known or suspected contamination issues, so that they can be excluded for analysis of background levels. The layout of fields and tables varies from year to year.
INFORMATION WARNING
Where this dataset indicates that a sample was taken in connection with a pollution incident or potential legal proceedings no inference should be drawn that landowners in the immediate vicinity of the sampling site had any responsibility.
Attribution Statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved.