Fate of Pesticidal Persistent Organic Pollutants in Lower Stretch of River Ganga and Sunderban Wetland in India

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) played a significant role in the Indian agrarian economy due to its effectiveness in pest control at a marginal cost. OCPs were banned under Stockholm Convention due to its persistence in the environment and toxicity. In India, due to the widespread use of OCPs in the past and restricted ongoing usage in vector borne disease control programs, various environmental matrices have been evidenced with OCPs residues. With surface run off, a major portion of OCPs from applied areas are drained in the river and eventually to the ocean. Hence this study is aimed at establishing the distribution, sources, fate and risk associated with pesticidal persistent organic pollutants in two different regions namely Hooghly River (riverine region, RR) and Sunderban (wetland region, WR) in the lower stretch of River Ganga. While Hooghly River (HR) is surrounded by possible active sources of OCPs, Sunderban wetland is a pristine location with meager human activities. Surface water, surface sediment and atmospheric samples were collected and analyzed for selected OCPs. RR showed higher levels of OCPs in all environmental matrices compared to WR due to the presence of active sources at the vicinity newline