The present study reports the concentration levels and distribution patterns of the organochlorine pesticide residues in the surface sediments of river Yamuna in the Indian capital state, Delhi. Analytical measurements were carried out for twenty organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the Pre-monsoon, Monsoon and Post-monsoon seasons, at six different sampling locations along the 22 km stretch of the river Yamuna in Delhi. The results revealed contamination of the surface sediments with several persistent organochlorine pesticides. Endrin aldehyde, Endosulfan sulfate and DDT showed the highest percentage composition of OCP at all the sampling sites in all the three seasons. The total organochlorine pesticides level ranged from 157.71 - 307.66 ng/g in Pre-monsoon to 195.86 - 577.74 ng/g in Monsoon and 306.9 - 844.45 ng/g in the Post-monsoon season. This not only demonstrates the pollution of the river with pesticide residues, but also the necessity of a continuous long-term monitoring of the affected environment.
W. J. Ntow, “Organochlorine Pesticides in Water, Sediment, Crops, and Human fluids in a Farming Community in Ghana,” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2001, pp. 557-563. doi:10.1007/s002440010210
P. K. Sethi and A. K. Bhattacharya, “Current Trends of Some Organochlorinated Pesticides in Yamuna River Sediments around Delhi,” Environmental Pollution Control Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1999, pp. 40-43.
S. Tanabe, H. Iwata and R. Tatsukawa, “Global Contamination by Persistent Organochlorines and Their Eco- toxicological Impact on Marine Mammals,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 154, 1994, pp. 397-403. doi:10.1016/0048-9697(94)90086-8
UNEP, “Global Report on Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances,” Geneva, Switzerland, UNEP Chemicals, 2003.
R. J. Gibbs, “Mechanisms of Trace Metal Transport In Rivers,” Science, Vol. 180, 1973, pp. 71-72. doi:10.1126/science.180.4081.71
L. Hakanson, “Sediment variability,” In: G. A. Burton Jr, Eds., Sediment Toxicity Assessment, Boca Raton, Lewis Publishers, FL, 1992, pp. 19-36.
X. Li, Z. Shen, O. W. H. Wai and Y. Li, “Chemical Partitioning of Heavy Metal Contaminants in Sediment of the Pearl River Estuary,” Chemical Speciation and Bioavailability, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2000, pp. 17-25. doi:10.3184/095422900782775607
A. Sodergren, “Trends in Water Pollution, Consequences for Ecotoxicology”, In: J. T. Zelikoff, Ed., Ecotoxicology: Responses, Biomarkers and Risk Assessment, an OECD Workshop, SOS Publications, Fair Haven, 1997, pp. 15- 23.
K. P. Singh, A. Malik and S. Sinha, “Persistent Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Soil and Surface Water of Northern Indo-Gangetic Alluvial Plains,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 125, 2007, pp. 47-155. doi:10.1007/s10661-006-9247-0
T. M. Travers, M. Beretta and M. C. Costa, “Ratio of DDT/DDE in the All Saints Bay, Brazil and its use in environmental management,” Chemosphere, Vol. 38, No. 6, 1999, pp. 1445-1452. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(98)00546-3
D. Yuan, D. Yang, T. L. Wade and Y. Qian, “Status of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Sediment from Several Estuaries in China,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 114, No. 1, 2001, pp. 101-111. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(00)00200-1
K. N. Mehrotra, “Status of Insecticide Resistance in Insect Pests,” In: B. Dhaliwal and B. Singh, Eds., Pesticides—Their Ecological Impact in Developing Countries, New Delhi7 Commonwealth Publishers, 1993, p. 30.
J. E. Cavanagh, K. A. Burns, G. J. Brunskill and R. J. Coventry, “Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Soils and Sediments of the Herbert and Burdekin River Regions, North Queensland—Implications for Contamination of the Great Barrier Reef,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 39, No. 112, 1999, pp. 367-375. doi:10.1016/S0025-326X(99)00058-2
R. D. Wauchope, T. M. Buttler, A. G. Hornsby, P. W. M. Augustijn Beckers and J. P. Burt, “SCS/ARS/CES Pesticide Properties Database for Environmental Decision Making,” Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 123, 1992, pp. 1-157.
H. Kidd and D. R. James, (Eds.), “The Agrochemicals Handbook,” Third Edition, Royal Society of Chemistry Information Services, Cambridge, UK, 1991.
ATSDR: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, September 2002.
L. H. Keith, “Environmental Endocrine Disrupters: A Handbook of Property Data,” Wiley, New York, 1997, p. 621.
C. Sanpera, X. Ruiz, G. A. Llorente, L. Jover and R. Jabeen, “Persistent Organochlorine Compounds in Sediment and Biota from the Haleji Lake: A Wildlife Sanctuary in South Pakistan,” Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 68, 2002, pp. 237-244. doi:10.1007/s001280244
X. D. Li, B. X. Mai, G. Zhang, G. Y. Sheng, J. M. Fu, S. M. Pan, O. W. H. Wai and Y. S. Li, “Distribution of Organochlorine Pesticides in a Sediment Profile of the Pearl River Estuary,” Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 67, 2001, pp. 871-880. doi:10.1007/s001280203
A. S. Rao, “Distribution of pesticides, PAHs and Heavy Metals in Prawn Ponds near Kolleru Lake Wetland, India,” Environment International, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2006, pp. 294-302. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2005.06.001
CCME, 2002, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, 2002, Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, Winnipeg Canada.
http://www.cpcb.nic.in/standard
R. Babu Rajendran, T. Imagawaa, H. Tao and R. Ramesh, “Distribution of PCBs, HCHs and DDTs, and their ecotoxicological implications in Bay of Bengal, India,” Environment International, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2005, pp. 503- 512. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2004.10.009
B. Bhattacharya, S. K. Sarkar and N. Mukherjee, “Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Sediments of a Tropical Mangrove Estuary, India: Implications for Monitoring,” Environment International, Vol. 29, 2003, pp. 587- 592. doi:10.1016/S0160-4120(03)00016-3
A. Sarkar, R. Nagarajan, S. P. Chaphadkar and S. Y. S. Singbal, “Contamination of Organochlorine Pesticides in Sediments from the Arabian Sea along the West Coast of India,” Water Research, Vol. 31, No. 2, 1997, pp. 195- 200. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(96)00210-2
G. G. Pandit, A. M. Mohan Rao, S. K. Jha, T. M. Krishnamoorthy, S. P. Kale, K. Raghu and N. B. K. Murthy, “Monitoring of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in the Indian Marine Environment,” Chemosphere, Vol. 44, No. 2, 2001, pp. 301-305. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(00)00179-X
L. Guzzella, C. Roscioli, L. Vigano, M. Saha, S. K. Sarkar and A. Bhattacharya, “Evaluation of the Concentration of HCH, DDT, HCB, PCB and PAH in the Sediments along the Lower Stretch of Hugli Estuary, West Bengal, Northeast India,” Environment International, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2005, pp. 523-534. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2004.10.014
S. Galassi, S. Valsecchi and G. A. Tartari, “The distribution of PCB’s and Chlorinated Pesticides in two Connected Himalayan Lakes,” Water, Air and Soil Pollution, Vol. 99, No. 1-4, 1997, pp. 717-725. doi:10.1007/BF02406911
O. Wurl and J. P. Obbard, “Organochlorine Pesticides, Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Singapore’s Coastal Marine Sediments,” Che- mosphere, Vol. 58, No. 11, 2005, pp. 925-933. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.09.054
M. Camusso, S. Galassi and D. Vignati, “Assessment of River Po Sediment Quality by Micropollutant Analysis,” Water Research, Vol. 36, No. 10, 2002, pp. 2491-2504. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(01)00485-7
A. I. Gomez-Gutierrez, E. Jover, L. Bodineau, J. Albaiges and J. M. Bayona, “Organic Contaminant Loads into the Western Mediterranean Sea: Estimate of Ebro River inputs,” Chemosphere, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2006, pp. 224-236. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.02.058
E. D. Caldas, R. Coelho, L. C. K. R. Souza and S. C. Siba, “Organochlorine Pesticides in Water, Sediment, and Fish of Paranoa Lake of Brasilia, Brazil,” Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 62, No. 2, 1999, pp. 199-206. doi:10.1007/s001289900860
M. L. Menone, J. E. Aizpun de Moreno, V. J. Moreno, A. L. Lanfranchi, T. L. Metcalfe and C. D. Metcalfe, “Organochlorine Pesticides and PCBs in a Southern Atlantic Coastal Lagoon Watershed, Argentina,” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 40, 2001, pp. 355-362. doi:10.1007/s002440010183
I. Osuna-Flores and M. C. Riva, Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 68, 2002, pp. 532-539.
N. Gonzalez-Lopez, R. Rial-Otero, B. Cancho-Grande, J. Simal-Gandara and B. Soto-Gonzalez, “Occurrence of Organochlorine Pesticides in Stream Sediments from an Industrial Area,” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 48, No. 3, 2005, pp. 296-302. doi:10.1007/s00244-004-0070-8
A. Grabe Stephen, Joseph Barron, “Sediment Contamination, By Habitat, In the Tampa Bay Estuarine System (1993-1999): PAHs, Pesticides and PCBs,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 91, No. 1-3, 2004, pp. 105-144.
S. M. Allen-Gil, C. P. Gubala, D. H. Landers, B. K. Lasorsa, , E. A. Crecelius and L. R. Curtis, “Heavy Metal Accumulation in Sediment and Freshwater Fish in U.S. Arctic Lakes,” Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 16, 1997, pp. 733-741. doi:10.1002/etc.5620160418
N. Barlas, I. Very and N. Akbulut, “The Contamination Levels of Organochlorine Pesticides in Water and Sediment Samples in Lake Uluabat, Turkey,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 118, 2006, pp. 383-391. doi:10.1007/s10661-006-1504-8
L. Guzzella, “PCBs and Organochlorine Pesticides in Lake Orta (Northern Italy) Sediments,” Water, Air and Soil Pollution, Vol. 99, No. 1-4, 1997, pp. 245-254. doi:10.1007/BF02406864