Contamination of paraquat residues in soil and water from several provinces in Indonesia

Paraquat is a herbicide widely applied to agriculture in Indonesia. The contamination of paraquat soil from several provinces in Indonesia was investigated to evaluate their potential pollution and risks. Paraquat is the predominant residue on the soil from the Riau, Lampung, East Java, South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi and South Kalimantan provinces. Paraquat residues are not found in surface water. The limit of detection of paraquat pesticides in soil was at the range of 47.9-59.7 ng/g and recovery 91.20–98.71%. The total paraquat concentrations in soil were in the range of 152.5–14,436.6 ng/g (dw). The results obtained in this study show that there are still found paraquat residues in the soil from several provinces in Indonesia, but the concentration is still below the tolerance limit or still below the results of previous studies from the European Commission. The results also indicate that there is no potential for certain health risks for consumers of water and organisms in irrigation water and rivers near of the study location.