Contamination by selected organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in surface soils in Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

An evaluation of selected organochlorine pesticide residues [p,p′- dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), p,p′- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), p,p′- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), α, β, γ and δ- hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)] in the surface soils of Hanoi, Vietnam was carried out. Sixty representative soil samples were collected from the centre of Hanoi and five surrounding districts. In agricultural areas, ∑DDT concentrations ranged from < 0.02 to 171.83 ng g-1 (mean 89.86 ng g-1) dry weight, whereas ∑HCH concentrations ranged from < 0.05 to 20.57 ng g-1 (mean 8.03 ng g-1) dry weight. Investigation of the ratio of different isomers in the soil samples indicates that there has been no recent input of DDT and HCH in the study area. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.