Nitrate Contamination in Groundwater in Sugarcane Field, Suphan Buri Province, Thailand
Sorranat Ratchawang1, Srilert Chotpantarat2
1Sorranat Ratchawang, International Programs Hazardous Substance and Environmental Management, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand.
2Srilert Chotpantarat, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and Research Program on Controls of Hazardous Contaminants in Raw Water Resources for Water Scarcity Resilience, Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
Manuscript received on 25 April 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 08 May 2019 | Manuscript Published on 17 May 2019 | PP: 239-242 | Volume-8 Issue-1S May 2019 | Retrieval Number: A10350581S19/2019©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Due to the intensive agricultural activities, nitrate (NO3 – ) contamination is one of the problems for groundwater resource protection in Thailand, well-known as an agricultural country. Nitrate has no taste and odorless in water and can be detected by chemical test only. It was reported that Suphan Buri is considered as one of the provinces with intensive agricultural areas, especially sugarcane fields. In this study, NO3 – concentrations were measured in 8 groundwater wells located in sugarcane fields in this province. NO3 – concentration in the area was ranged from 2.39 to 68.19 mg/L with an average concentration of 30.49 mg/L which was a bit higher than the previous study by Department of Groundwater Resources or DGR, which found that NO3 – was in the range of 0.53-66 mg/L with an average concentration of 24.15 mg/L. Moreover, there were two groundwater samples, which were found NO3 – concentration higher than the Thailand groundwater drinking standard (45 mg/L). As a result, NO3 – contaminated groundwater is common in the area with intensive use of nitrogen fertilizers and agricultural activities. People especially infants and babies living around the area have a chance to have health risks from NO3 – by drinking and using water from the wells.
Keywords: Nitrate, Groundwater, Nitrogen Fertilizer, Agricultural Area.
Scope of the Article: Computational Biology