Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have the ability of long range transport in air and water from warmer to cooler regions of the world, even to regions where they have never been used. Concentrations of HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane), DDT (dichlorodiphyltrichloroethane) and endosulfan were determined in the surface soil layers (0-15 cm) of Himalayan hills (Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh) and valleys (Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Guwahati, Assam) in the north-eastern part of India. Concentration of total HCHs (a,�,?,d- isomers), total DDTs (p,p?-DDT, o,p?-DDT, p,p?-DDE, o,p?-DDE, p,p?-DDD, o,p?-DDD) and total endosulfan (a,�,sulphate) in soils of Himalayan hills ranged from 0.30-2.02 ng/g, 2.47-662.60 ng/g and 0.09-1.74 ng/g, respectively and 0.08-1.67ng/g, 1.41-1853.3 ng/g and 0.09-1.73 ng/g, respectively in Himalayan valleys. The total OCPs were found to be highest in agricultural land followed by human settlement areas, pasture land and mountain slope.

Organochlorine pesticides in the soils of Eastern Himalayan hills and valleys, India

248th National Meeting (2014)

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