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Fertilizers, pesticides... pollutants in soils

Some potentially toxic substances, present in chemical pesticides and fertilizers, can contaminate soils (agricultural, lawns, gardens) in different ways :

  • accumulation at the surface or in some layers of the soil ;
  • assimilation by the microorganisms present in the soils, which transform them into new products, "metabolites" that can sometimes be as or even more toxic to the soil’s flora or microfauna ;
  • transport via infiltration of rainwater through the soil down to the groundwater.

The central department of analysis has developed methods of analysis via gas and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry that allow the simultaneous detection and quantification of dozens of pollutants at contents of the order of a ng/g of soil (ultra traces). This analysis requires a specific sample preparation (pressurized fluid extraction, in solid phase) developed by the laboratory.

Service central d’analyse, CNRS