Distribution and composition of organochlorine pesticides in farmland top soils of Anhui Province

By using ultrasonic method and GC/ECD, this paper analyzed the distribution and composition of 8 kinds of organochlorine pesticides (alpha-HCH, beta-HCH, gamma-HCH, delta-HCH, op'-DDE, pp'-DDD, alpha-endosulfan, and chlorothalonil) in farmland top soils (0-20 cm) in 19 districts of Anhui Province, East China. The total concentration of the pesticides in the top soils ranged from 0 to 23.75 microg x kg(-1), among which, pp'-DDD and gamma-HCH were the major pollutants, with the mean concentration being 13.83 and 13.49 microg x kg(-1), respectively. As compared with the analyses in 1990, the present mean concentration of HCH had an obvious decreasing trend, but was still higher than that in the top soils in other regions of China and in other countries. The mean concentrations of OCPs, HCHs and pp'-DDD in the test top soils were 48.58, 28.64 and 13.83 microg x kg(-1), respectively, not surpassed the first grade level (< 50 microg x kg(-1)) of the China National Soil Environmental Quality Standards (GB 15618-1995), suggesting that the farmland top soils in these districts of Anhui Province were less polluted.