Abstract
Soil residual concentration of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in 245 agricultural surface soil samples collected from Chengdu Economic Region, Sichuan Province, Southwest China, in order to investigate their spatial distribution and the controlling environmental factors. Results showed that detectable ratios of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) were very high, ranging from 88.16 (for δ-HCH) to 97.96% (for p,p′-DDE). The concentrations of DDTs were higher than HCHs, which were consistent with their historical usage in China. OCPs concentrations in the economically developed regions (Chengdu Plain) were higher than in the less developed, mountainous region around Chengdu Plain. The metabolite to parent ratio analysis of HCHs and DDTs indicated there were new pesticide inputs, possibly from the use of lindane (γ-HCH) and dicofol in some regions although they have banned for agricultural use since 1983. Also, the distribution of OCP congeners in soil was mainly governed by their individual physical and chemical characteristic, historical usage amount and patterns, and the environmental conditions, such as, temperature, landform, soil type, etc.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Su Qiuke for help in the field. We are very grateful for the assistance of Wang Xiangqin, Li Jie, Li Jun for soil extraction. We acknowledge funding from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40473043) and Geological Survey of Sichuan Province, China, and the consideration of editors and reviewers.
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Xing, X., Qi, S., Odhiambo, J.O. et al. Influence of environmental variables on spatial distribution of organochlorine pesticides in Sichuan, West China. Environ Earth Sci 59, 215–222 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0018-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0018-4