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A Survey of Sheep‐Dipping Practices in the River Tweed Catchment
Author(s) -
VIRTUE W. A.,
CHURCH A. M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.1993.tb00861.x
Subject(s) - diazinon , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , leaching (pedology) , geography , pesticide , geology , cartography , ecology , biology , soil science , geotechnical engineering , soil water
Following an initial exploratory survey in 1989, a detailed survey was carried out in 1990–91, the results of which indicated that a significant number of sheep dippers in the River Tweed catchment were at risk of polluting adjacent watercourses. Those dippers identified as medium to high risk of causing pollution were re‐inspected in 1992 as a follow‐up to the previous survey and, although in many cases dipping practices had greatly improved, a number were still at risk – emphasizing the importance of continued monitoring. To complement the survey, environmental samples were taken and, in most of the catchments, the dip‐active ingredients diazinon and propetamphos were found, confirming that the leaching of dip into a watercourse was occurring over a wide area throughout the Tweed catchment. The analysis of the environmental samples taken during the main dipping period each year of the survey showed that, in general, there was a significant decrease in diazinon and propetamphos in 1991 and 1992, compared to previous years.