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Endosulfan in China 2—emissions and residues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 16, pages 302–311 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Background, aim, and scope

Endosulfan is one of the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and also a candidate to be included in a group of new persistent organic pollutants (UNEP 2007). The first national endosulfan usage inventories in China with 1/4° longitude by 1/6° latitude resolution has been reported in an accompanying paper. In the second part of the paper, we compiled the gridded historical emissions and soil residues of endosulfan in China from the usage inventories. Based on the residue/emission data, gridded concentrations of endosulfan in Chinese soil and air have been calculated. These inventories will provide valuable data for the further study of endosulfan.

Methods

Emission and residue of endosulfan were calculated from endosulfan usage by using a simplified gridded pesticide emission and residue model—SGPERM, which is an integrated modeling system combining mathematical model, database management system, and geographic information system. By using the emission and residue inventories, annual air and soil concentrations of endosulfan in each cell were determined.

Results and discussion

Historical gridded emission and residue inventories of α- and β-endosulfan in agricultural soil in China with 1/4° longitude by 1/6° latitude resolution have been created. Total emissions were around 10,800 t, with α-endosulfan at 7,400 t and β-endosulfan at 3,400 t from 1994 to 2004. The highest residues were 140 t for α-endosulfan and 390 t for β-endosulfan, and the lowest residues were 0.7 t for α-endosulfan and 170 t for β-endosulfan in 2004 in Chinese agricultural soil where endosulfan was applied. Based on the emission and residue inventories, concentrations of α- and β-endosulfan in Chinese air and agricultural surface soil were also calculated for each grid cell. We have estimated annual averaged air concentrations and the annual minimum and maximum soil concentrations across China. The real concentrations will be different from season to season. Although our model does not consider the transport of the insecticide in the atmosphere, which could be very important in some areas during some special time, the estimated concentrations of endosulfan in Chinese air and soil derived from the endosulfan emission and residue inventories are in general consistent with the published monitoring data.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this work is the first inventory of this kind for endosulfan published on a national scale. Concentrations of the chemical in Chinese air and agricultural surface soil were calculated for each grid cell. Results show that the estimated concentrations of endosulfan in Chinese air and soil agree reasonably well with the monitoring data in general.

Recommendations and perspectives

The gridded endosulfan emission/residue inventories and also the air and soil concentration inventories created in this study will be updated upon availability of new information, including usage and monitoring data. The establishment of these inventories for the OCP is important for both scientific communities and policy makers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dalian Maritime University for funding this research project. Valuable comments from Dr. Martin Scheringer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology are highly appreciated.

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Affiliations

  1. International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), Dalian Maritime University, 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China

    Hongliang Jia, Yi-Fan Li, Degao Wang & Meng Yang

  2. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China

    Yeqing Sun

  3. Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada, 4905, Dufferin Street, Toronto, M3H 5T4, Canada

    Yi-Fan Li & Jianmin Ma

  4. IJRC-PTS, State Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Chongguo Tian

  5. IJRC-PTS, Ocean Environmental and Engineering College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Yongshen Ding

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  1. Hongliang Jia
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Correspondence to Yi-Fan Li.

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Jia, H., Sun, Y., Li, YF. et al. Endosulfan in China 2—emissions and residues. Environ Sci Pollut Res 16, 302–311 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-009-0125-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-009-0125-5

Keywords

  • Air
  • China
  • Concentrations
  • Emissions
  • Endosulfan
  • Inventories
  • OCPs
  • Organochlorine pesticides
  • Residues
  • Soil