Title: Residues of organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface waters, soils and sediments of the Kaidu River catchment, northwest China

Authors: Beibei Shen; Jinglu Wu; Zhonghua Zhao

Addresses: State Key Laboratory of Lake and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, China ' State Key Laboratory of Lake and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, China; Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, 830011 Urumqi, China ' State Key Laboratory of Lake and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, China

Abstract: We investigated residual levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, soil and sediments from the Kaidu River catchment in Xinjiang, an arid zone in northwest China. Sediments from areas with highly polluted soil have higher OCPs and PAHs, caused by intensive anthropogenic activities. Pollution concentrations, however, were lower than those in Lake Bositeng indicating that the lake is a sink for pollutants in this region. Source analysis indicated that hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) originated mainly from historical agricultural applications. DDTs in sediments of the Lake Bositeng Estuary, however, may contribute to pollutant resuspension, resulting from sediment disturbance, and recent inputs. Low-molecular-weight PAHs were predominant, indicating that PAHs originated primarily from low-temperature combustion processes and petroleum-derived sources. A risk assessment of OCPs and PAHs in soil and sediment, suggested that concentrations were not high enough to cause adverse biological effects in the aquatic ecosystem.

Keywords: organochlorine pesticides; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; residue distribution; anthropogenic input; Kaidu River catchment; arid area.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2018.093044

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2018 Vol.63 No.1/2, pp.104 - 116

Accepted: 04 Mar 2018
Published online: 04 Jul 2018 *

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