Increase in Organochlorine Contaminant Levels in Major Water Sources of the United States in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Organochlorine contaminants, such as triclosan (TCS), are present in major water sources across the United States. These antimicrobial compounds are widely used as multipurpose ingredients in everyday consumer products. They can be ingested or absorbed through the skin and are found in human blood, breast milk, and urine samples. Studies have shown that the increased use of antimicrobial agents leads to their presence and persistence in the ecosystem, particularly in soil and watersheds. Many studies have highlighted emerging concerns associated with the overuse of TCS, including dermal irritations, a higher incidence of antibacterial-related allergies, microbial resistance, disruptions in the endocrine system, altered thyroid hormone activity, metabolism, and tumor metastasis and growth. Organochlorine contaminant exposures play a role in inflammatory responsiveness, and any unwarranted innate response could lead to adverse outcomes. The capacity of TCS and other organochlorine contaminants to induce inflammation, resulting in persistent and chronic inflammation, is linked to various pathologies, such as cardiovascular disease and several types of cancers. Chronic inflammation presents a severe consequence of exposure to these antimicrobial agents, as any changes could result in the loss of immune competence. Organochlorine contaminant levels were established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2019-2020 and have consistently increased in response to the novel coronavirus (nCoV) (COVID-19) pandemic. Our previous research examined the overuse of products containing triclosan (TCS), which led to an increase in total trihalomethane (TTHM) levels affecting the quality of our water supply. We also investigated the impact of the FDA ban that now requires pre-market approval. To comprehend the consequences of excessive antimicrobial use on water quality, we conducted an analysis of the levels of total trichloromethane (chloroform), a byproduct of free chlorine added to TCS, in primary water sources in metropolitan areas across the United States in 2019-2020. We repeated this analysis after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021-2022 to examine its correlation with organochlorine exposure. Our study found that the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the increased use of antimicrobial products, has significantly raised the levels of total trihalomethanes compared to those reported in water quality reports from 2019-2020, in contrast to the reports from 2021-2022.

Organochlorines in sediments and mussels collected from coastal sites along the Pearl River Delta, South China

The level and pattern of residues of organochlorine pesticide and polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) were analyzed in sediment and mussel(Perna viridis) samples from ten coastal sites along the Pearl River Delta, South China. The range of total HCH was <0 01 to 0 29 ng/g freeze-dried weight in sediment, and <0 0 1 to 1 35 ng/g lipid weight in mussels. Average total DDTs concentrations ranged from <0 01 to 1 04 ng/g in sediment, and <0 01 to 148 5 ng/g in mussels . Average total PCB concentrations ranged from 16 4 to 198 6 ng/g in sediment, and from 41 to 729.2 ng/g in mussels. Organochlorine pesticide and PCBs in mussels and sediments presented similar distribution patterns. The regression analysis indicated that PCBs concentrations in mussels were significantly correlated(p<0 01) with concentrations in sediments. However, their concentrations in mussels were several times higher than the concentration detected in surrounding sediments. The major fraction of DDT related compounds measured in mussels and sediments was DDD. Based on average PCB concentrations, penta-, hexa-, and tetrachlorobiphenyls were preferentially accumulated by mussels as compared to the average sediment composition. According to the present results,three organochlorine polluted “hot spot' sites, including Victoria Harbour, Lingding Yang and Huangmao Sea, were found in the Pearl River estuarine zone. HCHs, DDTs and PCBs in all mussel samples were below the limits of 2, 0 2 and 5 0 μg/g wet weight recommended by the Technical Group of Guangdong Coastal Zone Resource Comprehensive Survey and U. S. Food and Drug Administration.

Contamination by Organochlorine Pesticides in the Estuaries of Southeast China

Persistent organic pollutants(POPs) such as organochlorine pesticides are of global concern due to their widespread occurrence and persistence. This paper reports recent research studying the distribution and fate of organochlorine pesticides in the Jiulong River, the Minjiang River and the Pearl River estuaries in Southeast China. Eighteen organochlorine pesticides were extracted from water, pore water and sediment samples, followed by analysis by GC ECD. The results showed that the contamination levels were similar in these three estuaries. The levels of the total organochlorine pesticides in porewater were significantly higher than those in surface water, due to the high affinity of these hydrophobic compounds for sediment phase. Among the hexachlorocyclohexane(HCH) compounds, β HCH was found to be the most important isomer. The analysis of 1,1,1 trichloro 2,2 bis chlorophenyl ethane(DDT) and its metabolites showed that 1,1 dichloro 2[ o chlorophenyl] 2[ p chlorophenyl] ethylene(DDE) was dominant in the group.

Organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and sediment of the Bosten Lake,Northwest China

We evaluated organic pollution in Bosten Lake, Xinjiang, China, by measuring the concentrations and distributions of organochlorine pesticides （OCPs） and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）. Water and sediment samples were collected from 19 sites 031-1319） in the lake for analysis. Our analytical results show that the concentrations of total OCPs in water ranges from 30.3 to 91.6 ng/L and the concentrations of PAHs ranges from undetectable （ND） to 368.7 ng/L. The concentrations of total OCPs in surface （i.e., lake bottom） sediment ranges from 6.9 to 16.7 ng/g and the concentrations of PAHs ranges from 25.2 to 491.0 ng/g. Hexachlorocyclohexanes （HCHs） and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes （DDTs） account for large proportions of the OCPs. Low α- to γ-HCH ratios in both water and sediment samples indicate possible contributions from both industrial products and lindane. DDTs in water are probably from historical input, whereas DDTs in sediments are from both historical and recent inputs. Moreover, DDT products in both water and sediments were from multiple sources in the northwestern part of the lake（B11, B12, B13, and B14）. Fugacity ratios for DDT isomers （p,p＇-DDE and p,p＇-DDT） at these sites were generally higher than equilibrium values. These results suggest that the input from the Kaidu River and diffusion of DDTs from the sediment to the water are responsible for DDT pollution in the water. Lower-molecular-weight PAHs, which originate primarily from wood and coal combustion and petroleum sources, represent the major fraction of the PAHs in both water and sediment samples. Our findings indicate that OCPs and PAHs in Bosten Lake can be attributed primarily to human activities. A risk assessment of OCPs and PAHs in water and sediment from Bosten Lake, however, suggests that concentrations are not yet high enough to cause adverse biological effects on the aquatic ecosystem.

Organochlorine pesticide and heavy metal residues in some edible biota collected from Quanzhou Bay and Xinghua Bay,Southeast China

In order to assess the contamination of edible marine organisms in Quanzhou and Xinghua Bays, Fujian Province, China, concentrations of organochlorine pesticides （hexachlorocyclohexane isomers or HCHs and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane isomers/derivatives or DDTs） and heavy metals （Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Cr, Cd, Ni and Hg） in 13 species collected from different sites in the hays were analyzed by GC-ECD and ICP-MS. The concentration of the sum of DDTs exceeded that the sum of HCHs in the samples. Most of the organisms showed higher levels of DDTs than the first level criterion （10 ng/g） for marine biological quality in China （GB 18421-2001） but conformed to the first level criterion （20 ng/g） for HCHs. The estimated mean daily uptake of pesticides was below the level for minimal risk to the consumers. The levels of Cd, As and Pb in most organisms from both bays were markedly elevated and above the recommended legal limits for human consumption. Our results showed the need for routine monitoring of marine species contamination to ensure public and environmental health.

Residues of organochlorine pesticides in surface soils from college school yards in Beijing, China

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been a major environmental issue, attracting much scientific concern because of their nature of toxicity, persistence, and endocrine disrupting effects. Soil samples were collected from ten college school yards in Beijing in 2006 and analyzed to determine fifteen OCPs. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) were found to be the main pollutants, accounting for 93.70% of total OCPs, followed by hexachlorohexanes (HCHs) (2.25%) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) (1.82%). Content...

Reduction of recruitment of Acartia pacifica nauplii from benthic resting eggs due to organochlorine pesticides

Many estuarine and coastal planktonic copepods depend on the hatching of benthic resting eggs for recruitment ofnauplii to the water column population. The potential effects of two organochlorine pesticides, hexchloriobinzene （HCH） and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane （DDT）, on the recruitment of A ccu＇tla pacifica nauplii from benthic resting eggs in the seabed of Xiamen Bay were experimentally investigated. The abundance of A. pacifica nauplii hatched from the sediment significantly decreased with the increase of pesticide concentration. Trimmed Spearman-Karber analysis gave sediment 96-h LC50 values were 84.81 ng/g for HCH, and 157.94 ng/g for DDT. The median AI （Al50） was -0.77, which suggested that the combined effect of riCH and DDT showed a weak effect than individual effects. There was a positive relationship between mortality and exposure time in DDT treatment, while the relationship was not significant in HCH treatment. The results suggest that organochlorine pesticides can reduce recruitment of A. pacifica nauplii from benthic resting eggs to planktonic population.

Dynamic microwave-assisted extraction combined with liquid phase microextraction based on the solidification of a floating drop for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides in grains followed by GC

A convenient,cost-effective and fast method using dynamic microwave-assisted extraction and liquid phase microextraction based on the solidification of a floating drop was proposed to analyze organochlorine pesticides in grains including rice,maize and millet.Twelve samples can be processed simultaneously in the method.During the extraction process,10%acetonitrile-water solutions containing 110μL of n-hexadecane were used to extract organochlorine pesticides.Subsequently,1.0 g sodium chloride was placed in the extract,and then centrifuged and cooled.The n-hexadecane drops containing the analytes were solidifi ed and transferred for determination by gas chromatography-electron capture detector without any further filtration or cleaning process.Limits of detection for organochlorine pesticides were 0.97–1.01μg/kg and the RSDs were in the range of 2.6%–8.5%.The developed technology has succeeded in analyzing six real grains samples and the recoveries of the organochlorine pesticides were 72.2%–94.3%.Compared with the published extraction methods,the developed method was used to analyze organochlorine pesticides in grains,being more environmentally friendly,which is suitable for the daily determination of organochlorine pesticides.

Distribution of organochlorine compounds in water, porewater and sediments in Xiamen Harbour

The Concentrations of 18 organochlorine pesticides and 12 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in water, porewater and sediments from the Xiamen Harbour were analyzed quantitatively. It shows that, the levels of all organochlorine insecticides varied from 6. 60 to 19 .6 ng/dm3 (in water), 11. 9-78. 5 ng/dm3(in porewater) and not detected (ND) - 0. 58 ng/g dry weight (in sediments), and those of total DDTs were in the range ND - 0. 06 ng/g dry weight. Concentrations of PCBs and in- secticides in porewater were higher than in surface water, due to the higher affinity of these hydrophobic compound for sedimentary phase than to water. It implies there would be a potential flux of pollutants from sediments to overlying water. Compared with the concentrations of these pollutants measured in the Xiamen Harbour in 1993, it is one to several magnitude order lower, which suggests their inputs have been decreased in recent years and possible degradation of these compounds. The levels of these pollutants were also compared with other estuaries.

Gridded inventories of historical usage for selected organochlorine pesticides in Heilongjiang River Basin, China

The use of technical HCH （1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-hexachlorocyclohexane）, DDT （dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane） and lindane in Heilongjiang River Basin （HRB） of China was studied. Between 1952 and 1984 the total usage in the HRB was 108900 t for technical HCH, and 4900 t for DDT, respectively, and the use of DDT due to dicofol application in the HRB was 220 t from 1984 to 2003. The usage of lindane in HRB was 109 t from 1991 to 2000. The results show that the highest technical HCH use （41800 t） in HRB was on maize, accounting for 38.3% of the total usage on all crops, followed by the use on wheat （28000 t, 25.7%） and on soybean （26600 t, 24.4%）. The highest DDT use （2300 t） was on soybean, accounting for 46.8% of the total usage on all crops, followed by the use on maize （1500 t, 31.3%） and on sorghum （600 t, 13.2%）. The major use of lindane was mainly on wheat. Gridded usage inventories of these three OCPs （organochlorine pesticides）, in HRB with a 1/6° latitude by 1/4° longitude resolution have been created by using different gridded cropland as surrogates. Some soil samples have also been collected in HRB. Data of usage and soil concentrations of 5： HCH in HRB match quite well to those in Shanghai region, and much higher soil concentration of 5： DDT in Shanghai region could be due to much heavier dicofol use in this region.

Distribution of persistent organochlorine pesticides in tissue/organ of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) from Guanting Reservoir, China

The concentration of organochlorine pesticides（OCPs） in tissues and organs of silver carp（Hypophthalmichthys mofitrix） from Guanting Reservoir were investigated to evaluate the pollution potential and distribution of OCPs. A total of 16 OCPs were measured and the concentrations were in the range of 1.61-69.01 ng/g wet weight（ww） for total OCPs, 0.16- 0.75 ng/g ww for HCB. 0.75 -26.80 ng/g ww for SHCH（sum of α-,β-, γ- and δ-HCH） and 0.68-35.94 ng/g ww for SDDT（ sum of p, p＇-DDE, p, p＇-DDD, o, p＇-DDT and p, p＇- DDT）. The mean concentrations of total OCPs, HCB, ∑HCH, and ∑DDT were 18.04, 0.96, 7.14 and 9.28 ng/g ww, respectively. Among the organochlorine pesticides, β-HCH and p, p＇-DDE were the most dominant compounds in tissue and organ with the average concentrations of 4.42 and 8.14 ng/g, respectively. The results obtained in this study show that the levels of 16 OCP residues found in silver carps are low and pose no threat to human health and wildlife fed upon them on the basis of existing related quality guidelines. However, recent input of lindane and DDT might still exist in the area investigated and further investigation should be carried on.

Effective Organochlorine Pesticides Removal from Aqueous Systems by Magnetic Nanospheres Coated with Polystyrene

In this paper, magnetic nanospheres coated with polystyrene （Fe3O4@PS） were prepared for the removal of organochlorine pesticides from aqueous solutions. The obtained Fe3O4@PS was round shape with diameter of 55±11 nm. The VSM results illustrated that its higher saturated magnetization was 36.76 emu g^-1 and it could be easily separated from aqueous solutions with a permanent magnet. The adsorption results showed that pesticides could be effectively adsorbed and the adsorption equilibrium time was less than 20 mins. The pseudo-second-order model was suitable to describe the adsorption kinetics. Compared with the Freundlich adsorption model, the adsorption data fitted well with Langmuir model. The effect of salinity and humic acid was also studied and the results illustrated that they could be neglected under optimized conditions. The asobtained sorbent showed a good performance with more than 93.3% pesticides removal in treating actual water samples.

Monitoring of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues──The GEMS/Food Program in China

This paper covers the monitoring activities of organochlorine (OCS) pesticide residues in the GEMS/Food program, which China took part in for the first time in 1992. The levels of HCH and DDT were determined in 355 samples of eight main varieties of food , taken from five provinces and cities. The results show that the positive rate of HCH is 69%, of which 99. 44 % is in accord with the National Standards of Food Hygiene of China. As to DDT, the two rates are 42 % and 100 % respectively. The daily intakes of HCH and DDT are 0. 22 mg/ kg.bw and 0. 54 mg/kg. bw respectively, which are far below their corresponding ADIs.Compared with those in 1970s, the OCS residues have decreased significantly. Therefore the monitored varieties of food are safe to people's health

Synthetic Detergents (Surfactants) and Organochlorine Pesticide Signatures in Surface Water and Groundwater of Greater Kolkata, India

An assessment on the concentration of surfactants and pesticides of chlorinated hydrocarbon group in surface and groundwater, is made from Greater Kolkata located in the Western Ganga Delta, one of the largest urban agglomerate in Asia. Concentration of both anionic synthetic detergents and organochlorine pesticide resi-dues analysed from 54 and 19 sampling stations covering groundwater and surface water sources respec-tively, are generally found to be within the tolerance limit for human consumption. The concentration of synthetic detergent ranges from 0.084 to 0.425mg/l. Residues of organochlorine pesticides are analysed from different sources like tanks, lakes, rivers and groundwater. Lindane (0.01-0.43μg/l) and DDT (0.03-0.65 μg/l) are the most widely detected pesticide residues. Howerer, the two have not exceeded the limits for drinking anywhere. High value of aldrin and dieldrin (0.9μg/l) is obtained in the river Hugli at Barakpur-Seoraphuli, 20 km north of Kolkata. Likewise high value of Heptachloreis detected in a canal water sample at Palta (0.05 μg/l), a suburban area. Seasonally, the pesticide concentration in surface water is maximum during winter due to their higher application and minimum during monsoon. In groundwater, however, this relationship is reverse due to higher infiltration of surface water during monsoon.

Inferring of Organochlorine Pesticide Transmission under Atmospheric Circulation Impact

[ Objective] The study aims to infer the transmission of organochlorine pesticides under the influence of atmospheric circulation. [ Meth- od] A transmission profile of organochlorine pesticides was established in the region from the western margin of the Sichuan Basin to the western Si- chuan plateau, from which atmospheric particulate matter, atmospheric dry and wet deposition samples as well as corresponding soil samples were collected and analyzed. [ Result~ The study showed that HCHs content was the highest on the elevation boundaries of the study area, and,8-HCH content was the highest in the study area, indicating that there were no new HCHs input to the study area. In respect of HCHs content in the soil and atmospheric precipitation, it was significantly higher in low-lying areas than that of high-altitude areas. Besides, sources of organechlorine pesti- cides in high-altitude areas were mostly derived from atmospheric particulate matter and atmospheric dry deposition. A variety of factors affected the long-distance transmission of organochlorine pesticides, and the form of the atmospheric transport of organochlorine pesticides could be determined accurately based on the content of organochlorine pesticides in different media of each sample point. In different months, the sources of organechlo- rine pesticides in the atmospheric transmission varied with atmospheric circulation direction, so it could not be simply thought that organochlorine pesticides were transmitted from low-lying areas to high-altitude areas. Meanwhile, there was a transformation between the source and sink of or- ganochlorine pesticides in plateau areas because of atmospheric circulation changed. [ Condusionl The research could provide scientific references for the control of persistent organic pollutant diffusion and establishment of environmental protection measures. ds

Detection of Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants in Eggs of Antarctic Seabirds Based on Gas Chromatography and Their Ecological Environment Significance

By using internal standard method based on gas chromatography-electron capture detector （GC-ECD）, the contents of persistent or- ganochlorine pollutants polychorinated biphenyls （PCBs） and organochlorine pesticides （OCPs） in eggs of seabirds （ Catharacta Ionnbergi, Cathar- acta maccormicki, Pygoscelis papua and Macronectes giganteus） breeding on King George Island, Antarctica were detected, and their ecological environment significance was discussed. The results showed that the recovery of various compounds ranged from 68.6% to 90.8% ; relative stand- ard deviation （RSD） was 3.6%, and the lowest detection limits of PCBs and OCPs were 0.8 - 16 and 2 - 12 pg respectively, which could meet the demands for the residue analysis of trace persistent organochlorine pollutants in the eggs of Antarctic seabirds. The contents of PCBs, DDTs, HCB and HCHs in the eggs of Antarctic seabirds were 0.5 -515.5, 2.0 -304.4,0.5 -70.5, and 0.5 -2.0 ng/g respectively. In addition, the accumula- tion of PCBs and OCPs in the skuas was enhanced gradually through the food chain. The maximums of persistent organochlorine pollutants ap- peared in the eggs of C. Ionnbergi, followed by the eggs of C. maccomicki. The detection of OCPs and PCBs in the eggs of Antarctic seabirds was not interfered by other compounds containing chlorine, showing that the extraction, purification and detection method was suitable for the analysis of OCPs and PCBs in the eggs of Antarctic seabirds and has high sensitivity and reliability.

Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Vegetable Samples from Some Agricultural Areas in Togo

The study was conducted to monitor the concentration of pesticide residues in three staple vegetables (tomato, cabbage, lettuce) collected from 12 prefectures belonging to 4 agro-ecological regions of Togo. A total of 150 samples of ripe tomato, cabbage and lettuce were collected from the study areas and analyzed for 20 OCPs (organochlorine pesticides) residues, which can be grouped into DDTs, Drins, Heptachlors, Chlordanes and HCHs. The data revealed that 100% of the analyzed vegetable samples were contaminated by one or more pesticide residues;83.32% and 100% were below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set par European Union and FAO/WHO respectively whereas 16.68% were above the EU (MRLs) adopted values. Overall, cabbage contained the highest number of samples with pesticide residues above the MRLs followed by tomato, whilst none of lettuce samples contained pesticide residues above the MRLs. It is therefore proposed to perform continuous monitoring studies of pesticide residues in vegetables cultivated in Togo.

The Status of Organochlorine Pesticides Pollution in Hubei Section of the Yangtze River

The Organochlorine Pesticides(OCPs),such as hexachlorocyclohexane(HCH)and dichlorodiphenyltrichloro ethane(DDT),are well known as typical persistent organic pollutions(POPs).They were worldwide used several decades ago,even today in some area.Although the water resource is very important in natural environments and essential to agriculture,the pollution of OCPs in water has emerged as worldwide environmental problem. Wuhan section of the Yangtze River is the drinking water source of Wuhan area in Hubei province.In addition,Hubei province is an important production base of grain,cotton,oil and pig.As the rapid development of industry and mass-use of OCPs

Photocatalytic degradation of organochlorine compounds using TiO_2 supported on fiberglass cloth

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Study of Organochlorine Pesticides in Eco-geochemical Survey of Soil in Shandong Province

Based on a comprehensive eco-geochemical survey of Shandong Province, the differences in pesticide residue situation and contents of DDTs and HCHs in the soils of Yantai City and Southwest Shandong Province(abbreviated as SSP) were studied in this paper. The results showed that the detection rates of DDTs and HCHs in the soil of SSP were apparently higher than Yantai City. However, the mean contents of DDTs and HCHs in the soil of Yantai were 9 and 25 times of SSP, respectively, and higher than the mean contents of many other cities and areas. p,p′-DDE was the main pesticide residual form in the soil of SSP. It is recognized as the degradation product of DDTs in oxidation environment in past, nevertheless, 5.52% of the soils in Yantai City still have a little of DDT input recently, which has posed a big impact on soil environment quality. β-HCH was the main form of the four isomers of HCHs in Yantai City, and α-HCH/γ-HCH in SSP was low. These reveal that the residual time of HCHs in the soils of both the two areas has a long period. After primary analysis, the risk of DDTs and HCHs in the soil of SSP is low, but DDTs in the soil of Yantai City still has a certain risk.