Abstract
Results of a GC-MS analysis for targeted pesticides i.e. dieldrin, endosulfan, pp-DDT, endrin, HCB, heptachlor, mirex and aldrin in the Kafue Flats of Zambia are presented. Analysis was done in soils, sediments, water and vegetation samples from the Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon National Parks along the Kafue River. A validated analytical method that was used gave recoveries in a spiked soil sample ranging between 60 % and 100 % with limits of detection (LODs) ranging from 0.94 to 8.0 ng/g. The targeted pesticides were not detected in all the samples i.e. were below LODs. Screening using the Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution and Identification System (AMDIS) simplified the analysis due to its power of deconvolution and identification of analytes of interest.
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Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank the European Union (EU) for having purchased a brand new Agilent 5975 Inert MSD Gas Chromatograph–Mass Spectrometer and donated it through the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the University of Zambia, Department of Chemistry for peaceful application of chemistry. We also thank the Government of Zambia for providing funding through the University of Zambia’s Sector Pool research fund.
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Sichilongo, K., Banda, D. GC-MS Determination of Targeted Pesticides in Environmental Samples from the Kafue Flats of Zambia. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 91, 510–516 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-013-1087-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-013-1087-3