Abstract
The residues of 13 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in surface water and HCHs and DDTs in suspended particulate matter (SPM) from rivers and lakes in Yangtze River catchment of Wuhan, China, were investigated. The concentration of total OCPs in surface water varied from 1.01 to 46.49 ng l−1 (mean 10.55 ng l−1). The levels of total HCHs (∑HCH) and total DDTs (∑DDT) in surface water were in the range of 0.55–28.07 ng l−1 and lower than detection limit to 16.71 ng l−1, respectively, which was lower than Chinese standards on the whole. For OCPs residues in SPM, the mean levels varying from 0.20 to 34.72 ng l−1 and 0.46 to 2.72 ng l−1 for ∑HCH and ∑DDT, respectively, which ranked the relatively higher levels among Chinese studied rivers. Results from this investigation showed that previous excessive usage of technical OCPs was the main reason for the residues of HCHs and DDTs both in surface water and SPM, although some new sources were likely to occurred in the region. Apart from the OCPs in SPM originated from upstream in flood season, one of the important sources of OCP residues both in water and SPM in Yangtze River was supposed to be the inputs of its tributaries. Additionally, in situ water-SPM phase distributions of OCPs indicated that HCHs tended totransport with water as well as DDTs was prone to combine with SPM in Yangtze River catchment of Wuhan.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chiuchiolo, A. L., Dickhut, R. M., Cochran, M. A., & Ducklow, H. W. (2004). Persistent organic pollutants at the base of the Antartic marine food web. Environmental Science & Technology, 38, 3551–3557.
Crisp, T. M., Clegg, E. D., Cooper, R. L., Wood, W. P., Andersen, D. G., Baetcke, K. P., et al. (1998). Environmental endocrine disruption: An effects assessment and analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106, 11–56.
Doong, R. A., Sun, Y. C., Liao, P. L., Peng, C. K., & Wu, S. C. (2002). Distribution and fate of organochlorine pesticide residues in sediments from the selected rivers in Taiwan. Chemosphere, 48, 237–246.
Fernández, M. A., Alonso, C., González, Ma. J., & Hernández, L. M. (1999). Occurrence of organochlorine insecticides, PCBs and PCB congeners in waters and sediments of the Ebro River (Spain). Chemosphere, 38, 33–43.
Foster, G. D., Roberts Jr, E. C., Gruessner, B., & Velinsky, D. J. (2000). Hydrogeochemistry and transport of organic contaminants in an urban watershed of Chesapeake Bay (USA). Applied Geochemistry, 15, 901–915.
Fu, S., Chu, S., & Xu, X. (2001). Organochlorine pesticide residue in soils from Tibet, China. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 66, 171–177.
Golfinopoulos, S. K., Nikolaou, A. D., Kostopoulou, M. N., Xilourgidis, N. K., Vagi, M. C., & Lekkas, D. T. (2003). Organochlorine pesticides in the surface waters of Northern Greece. Chemosphere, 50, 507–516.
Hitch, R. K., & Day, H. R. (1992). Unusual persistence of DDT in some Western USA soils. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 48, 259–264.
Hong, H., Chen, W., Xu, L., Wang, X., & Zhang, L. (1999). Distribution and fate of organochlorine pollutants in the Pearl River estuary. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 39, 376–382.
Jiang, X., Martens, D., Schramm, K., Kettrup, A., Xu, S. F., & Wang, L. S. (2000). Polychlorinated organic compounds (PCOCs) in waters, suspended solids and sediments of the Yangtse River. Chemosphere, 41, 901–905.
Law, S. A., Diamond, M. L., Helm, P. A., Jantunen, L. M., & Alaee, M. (2001). Factors affecting the occurrence and enantiomeric degradation of hexachlorocyclohexane isomers in northern and temperate aquatic systems. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 20, 2690–2698.
Lee, K. T., Tanabe, S., & Koh, C. H. (2001). Distribution of organochlorine pesticides in sediments from Kyeonggi Bay and nearby areas, Korea. Environmental Pollution, 114, 207–213.
Li, Y. F., Barrie, L. A., Bidleman, T. F., & McConell, L. L. (1998). Global hexachlorocyclohexane use trends and their impact on the arctic atmospheric environment. Geophysical Research Letters, 25, 39–42.
Li, Y. F., Cai, D. J., Shan, Z. J., & Zhu, Z. L. (2001). Gridded usage inventories of technical hexachlorocyclohexane and lindane for China with 1/6 °latitude by 1/4° longitude resolution. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 41, 261–266.
Li, Y. F., & Macdonald, R. W. (2005). Sources and pathways of selected organochlorine pesticides to the Arctic and the effect of pathway divergence on HCH trends in biota: A review. Science of the Total Environment, 342, 87–106.
Metcalf, R. L. (1973). A century of DDT. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 21, 511–520.
Munn, M. D., & Gruber, S. J. (1997). The relationship between land use and organochlorine compounds in streambed sediment and fish in the Central Columbia Plateau, Washington and Idaho, USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 16, 1877–1887.
Qiu, X., Zhu, T., Yao, B., Hu, J., & Hu, S. (2005). Contribution of dicofol to the current DDT pollution in China. Environmental Science & Technology, 39, 4385–4390.
Quan, X., Niu, J. F., Chen, S., Chen, J. W., Zhao, Y. Z., & Yang, F. L. (2003). Effects of Fe2O3, organic matter and carbonate on photocatalytic degradation of lindane in the sediment from Liao river, China. Chemosphere, 52, 1749–1755.
SEPA (State Environment Protection Agency of China), 2002. Environment quality standards for surface water (GB3838-2002).
Singh, K. P., Malik, A., Mohan, D., & Takroo, R. (2005). Distribution of persistent organochlorine pesticide residues in Gomti River, India. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 74, 146–154.
Turgut, C. (2003). The contamination with organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals in surface water in Kucuk Menderes River in Turkey, 2000–2002. Environment International, 29, 29–32.
USEPA (2002). Current national recommended water quality criteria. Available from: <http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/wqcriteria.html>.
Walker, K., Vallero, D. A., & Lewis, R. G. (1999). Factors influencing the distribution of lindane and other hexachlorocyclohexanes in the environment. Environmental Science & Technology, 33, 4373–4378.
Wang, X. T, Chu, S. G., & Xu, X. B. (2003). Organochlorine pesticide residues in water from Guanting Reservoir and Yongding River, China. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 70, 351–358.
Willett, K. L., Ulrich, E. M., & Hites, R. A. (1998). Differential toxicity and environmental fates of hexachlorocyclohexane isomers. Environmental Science & Technology, 32, 2197–2207.
Wong, M. H., Leung, A. O. W., Chan, J. K. Y., & Choi, M. P. K. (2005). A review on the usage of POP pesticides in China, with emphasis on DDT loadings in human milk. Chemosphere, 60, 740–752.
Wu, W. Z., Schramm, K. W., Henkelmamn, B., Xu, Y., Yediler, A., & Kettrup, A. (1997). PCCDD/Fs PCBs, HCHs and HCB in sediments and soils of Ya-Er Lake area in China: Results on residual levels and correlation to the organic carbon and the partical size. Chemosphere, 34, 191–202.
Wu, Y., Zhang, J., & Zhou, Q. (1999). Persistent organochlorine residues in sediments from Chinese river/estuary systems. Environmental Pollution, 105, 143–150.
Xue, N., & Xu, X. (2006). Composition, distribution, and characterization of suspected endocrine-disrupting pesticides in Beijing GuanTing Reservoir (GTR). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 50, 463–473.
Yang, Q. S., Mai, B. X., Fu, J. M., Sheng, G. Y., & Wang, J. X. (2004). Spatial and temporal distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in surface water from the Pearl River Artery estuary. Environmental Science, 25, 150–156 (in Chinese).
Yang, R., Lv, A., Shi, J., & Jiang, G. (2005). The levels and distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in sediments from the Haihe River, China. Chemosphere, 61, 347–354.
Yu, Y. J., Huang, H., Wang, B., Wang, X. D., & Wang, L. S.(2004). Level of organochlorine pesticide pollution in the water of the Huaihe River, Jiangsu province. Environment & chemistry, 23, 568–572 (in Chinese).
Zhang, Z. L., Huang, J., Yu, G., & Hong, H. (2004). Occurrence of PAHs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in the Tonghui River of Beijing, China. Environmental Pollution, 130, 249–261.
Zhang, G., Parker, A., House, A., Mai, B., Li, X., Kang, Y., & Wang, Z. (2002). Sedimentary records of DDT and HCH in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Environmental Science & Technology, 36, 3671–3677.
Zhou, J. L., Hong, H., Zhang, Z., Maskaoui, K., & Chen, W. (2000). Multi-phase distribution of organic micropollutants in Xiamen Harbour, China. Water Research, 34, 2132–2150.
Zhou, R., Zhu, L., Yang, K., & Chen, Y. (2006). Distribution of organochlorine pesticides in surface water and sediments from Qiantang River, East China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 137, 68–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tang, Z., Yang, Z., Shen, Z. et al. Residues of organochlorine pesticides in water and suspended particulate matter from the Yangtze River catchment of Wuhan, China. Environ Monit Assess 137, 427–439 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9778-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9778-z