Accumulation and distribution of persistent organochlorine pesticides and their contamination of surface water and sediments of the Sabarmati River, India

Authors

Department of Forensic Science, School of Sciences, Gujarat University, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Pesticides are chemical substances used to control pests in an effort to increase crop production and quality, and food storage. The levels of pesticides in different environmental compartments, such as water, soil, agricultural foods, and products of animal origin, have become a relevant issue. In this study, the levels of pesticide residues in Sabarmati River of Gujarat, India, have been investigated using surface water and sediment samples as a case study to find the extent of contamination and accumulation in the River. Thus, 3 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), namely dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and endosulfan, and their isomers were analyzed in the River through gas chromatography (GC) (Shimadzu, 2010) using an electron capture detector (ECD). The present research is very vital and holds a great significance for a developing nation like India. There is a lack of such studies in India and a similar study has not been carried out on the Sabarmati River since 1998. In some cases detected concentrations were higher than the standard set by the Indian Bureau of Standards as well as theEuropean Union. ∑OCP residues detected in surface water and sediments samples of the Sabarmati River ranged between below detection limit (BDL) and 392.71 μg/l and BDL-1393.81 ng/g. 

Keywords

References

  1. Malik A, Singh KP, Mohan D, Patel DK. Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Gomti river system, India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 2004; 72(6): 1211-8.
  2. Davis DL, Bradlow HL. Can environmental estrogens cause breast cancer? Sci Am 1995; 273(4): 167-72.
  3. Welbourn P. Environmental Toxicology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2002.
  4. Mishra K, Sharma RC. Contamination of aquatic system by chlorinated pesticides and their spatial distribution over North-East India. Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences 2011; 3(3): 144-55.
  5. Gupta PK. Pesticide exposure--Indian scene. Toxicology 2004; 198(1-3): 83-90.
  6. Kaur M, Sharma JK, Gill JP, Aulakh RS, Bedi JS, Joia BS. Determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in freshwater fish species in Punjab, India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 2008; 80(2): 154-7.
  7. AOAC: Official methods of analysis. Arlington, VA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Inc.; 1976.
  8. Horwitz W. Official methods of analysis of the AOAC. Arlington VA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists; 2000.
  9. U.S. Department of Health And Human Services. Toxicological profile for alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-hexachlorocyclohexane. Atlanta, GA: Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; 2005.
  10. Malik A, Ojha P, Singh KP. Levels and distribution of persistent organochlorine pesticide residues in water and sediments of Gomti River (India)-a tributary of the Ganges River. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 2009; 148(1-4): 421-35.
  11. Nayak AK, Raha P, Das AK, Raha R. Organochlorine pesticide residues in middle stream of the Ganga River, India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 1995; 54(1): 68-75.
  12. Rajendran RB, Subramanian AN. Chlorinated pesticide residues in surface sediments from the River Kaveri, south India. J Environ Sci Health B 1999; 34(2): 269-88.
  13. Ghose NC, Saha D, Gupta A. Synthetic Detergents (Surfactants) and Organochlorine Pesticide Signatures in Surface Water and Groundwater of Greater Kolkata, India. J Water Resource and Protection 2009; 4(1): 290-8.
  14. Singh S, Mishra RN. Occurrence of organochlorine pesticides residue in Kuano river of eastern Uttar Pradesh. J Environ Biol 2009; 30(3): 467-8.
  15. Kaushik CP, Sharma HR, Jain S, Dawra J, Kaushik A. Pesticide residues in river Yamuna and its canals in Haryana and Delhi, India. Environ Monit Assess 2008; 144(1-3): 329-40.
  16. Zhang Z, Hong H, Zhou JL, Yu G, Chen W, Wang X. Transport and fate of organochlorine pesticides in the River Wuchuan, southeast China. J Environ Monit 2002; 4(3): 435-41.
  17. Zhang ZL, Hong HS, Zhou JL, Huang J, Yu G. Fate and assessment of persistent organic pollutants in water and sediment from Minjiang River Estuary, Southeast China. Chemosphere 2003; 52(9): 1423-30.
  18. Imo ST, Hirosawa E, Sheikh MA, Tamaki F, Oomori T. Persistent Organochlorine Pesticides in River Waters of Southern Part of Okinawa Island, Japan. Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution 2007; 4(2): 37-42.
  19. Sarkar A, Sen GR. Chlorinated pesticide residues in sediments from the Arabian Sea along the central west coast of India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 1987; 39(6): 1049-54.
  20. El-Kabbany S, Rashed MM, Zayed MA. Monitoring of the pesticide levels in some water supplies and agricultural land, in El-Haram, Giza (A.R.E.). J Hazard Mater 2000; 72(1): 11-21.
  21. Yang RQ, Lv AH, Shi JB, Jiang GB. The levels and distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in sediments from the Haihe River, China. Chemosphere 2005; 61(3): 347-54.
  22. Doong RA, Sun YC, Liao PL, Peng CK, Wu SC. Distribution and fate of organochlorine pesticide residues in sediments from the selected rivers in Taiwan. Chemosphere 2002; 48(2): 237-46.
  23. Ize-Iyamu OK, sia IO, Egwakhide PA. Concentrations of residues from organochlorine pesticide in water and fish from some rivers in Edo State Nigeria. International Journal of Physical Sciences 2007; 2(9): 237-41.
  24. Zhou R, Zhu L, Yang K, Chen Y. Distribution of organochlorine pesticides in surface water and sediments from Qiantang River, East China. J Hazard Mater 2006; 137(1): 68-75.
  25. Holoubek I, Roots O. Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances: Global report 2003. Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP Chemicals; 2003.
  26. Ali I, Singh P, Rawat Ms, Badoni A. Analysis of organochlorine pesticides in the hindon river water, India. Journal of Environmental Protection Science 2008; 2: 47-53.
  27. Singh L, Choudhary SK, Singh PK. Pesticide concentration in water and sediment of River Ganga at selected sites in middle Ganga plain. International Journal of Environmental Sciences 2012; 3(1): 260.
  28. Zhang Z, Dai M, Hong H, Zhou JL, Yu G. Dissolved insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in the Pearl River Estuary and South China Sea. J Environ Monit 2002; 4(6): 922-8.
  29. Barakat AO, Mostafa A, Wade TL, Sweet ST, El Sayed NB. Assessment of persistent organochlorine pollutants in sediments from Lake Manzala, Egypt. Mar Pollut Bull 2012; 64(8): 1713-20.
  30. Chen W, Jing M, Bu J, Ellis BJ, Qi S, Song Q, et al. Organochlorine pesticides in the surface water and sediments from the Peacock River Drainage Basin in Xinjiang, China: a study of an arid zone in Central Asia. Environ Monit Assess 2011; 177(1-4): 1-21.
  31. Covaci A, Gheorghe A, Voorspoels S, Maervoet J, Steen RE, Blust R, et al. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in sediment cores from the Western Scheldt river (Belgium): analytical aspects and depth profiles. Environ Int 2005; 31(3): 367-75.
  32. Fernandez MA, Alonso C, Gonzalez MJ, Hernandez LM. Occurrence of organochlorine insecticides, PCBs and PCB congeners in waters and sediments of the Ebro River (Spain). Chemosphere 1999; 38(1): 33-43.
  33. Liu WX, He W, Qin N, Kong XZ, He QS, Ouyang HL, et al. The residues, distribution, and partition of organochlorine pesticides in the water, suspended solids, and sediments from a large Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu) during the high water level period. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2013; 20(4): 2033-45.
  34. Minh NH, Minh TB, Kajiwara N, Kunisue T, Iwata H, Viet PH, et al. Pollution sources and occurrences of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in sediments of the Mekong River delta, South Vietnam. Chemosphere 2007; 67(9): 1794-801.
  35. Kouzayha A, Al Ashi A, Al Akoum R, Al Iskandarani M, Budzinski H, Jaber F. Occurrence of pesticide residues in Lebanon's water resources. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 2013; 91(5): 503-9.
Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research

Volume 3, Issue 1
Winter 2015
Pages 15-26

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics