Simultaneous Determination of Clomazone, Diuron and Hexazinone in Wastewater From Agrochemical Formulators by High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

ABSTRACT Agrochemical companies face significant challenges in cleaning their equipment due to the high levels of residual pesticide contamination. This study aimed to develop and validate an HPLC‐UV/DAD method for the simultaneous determination of clomazone, diuron and hexazinone in wastewater generated during the cleaning of formulation equipment following the production of agrochemical products containing these active ingredients. The analytes were successfully separated and quantified, with limits of detection of 2.7 × 10 −2 , 3.5 × 10 −5 and 6.0 × 10 −5 μg mL −1 for clomazone, diuron and hexazinone, respectively. The method demonstrated excellent linearity, with coefficients of determination ( R 2 ) ranging from 0.9980 to 0.9998, satisfactory precision (RSD ≤ 8.53%) and recovery values ranging from 85.67% to 116.76%. Overall, the validated method proved to be rapid, robust and reliable for the simultaneous determination of these pesticides, demonstrating its suitability for monitoring agrochemical residues in wastewater generated by formulation industries.