Cuantificación de metales en aguas de riego. Estudio de caso en la provincia de Chimborazo.

Abstract

The growth of agribusiness in Ecuador in recent years has caused serious problems of environmental contamination affecting its natural resources, so it is important to implement effective strategies to determine the sources of pollution and mitigate their impacts on the environment. One of the most important is the presence of heavy metals, therefore, it is essential to determine quantitatively them to carry out their proper management. The province of Chimborazo is located in the central zone of Ecuadorian Andes and one of its main agroindustries is related to the production of ornamental plants, whose contamination by heavy metals has not been sufficiently studied, especially with regard to the irrigation waters. The aim of this research was to determine quantitatively by atomic emission spectroscopy using inductive coupling plasma, the degree of contamination by heavy metals of the irrigation water of the Floriculture Industry White River Roses of the Penipe Canton. The results showed that, in general, the irrigation water used in this agricultural industry does not contain significant amounts of heavy metals.