Pesticides monitoring journal最新文献

Since 1966, 72 herons found dead or moribund in the field have been analyzed for organochlorine chemicals. In addition, 36 herons were obtained through systematic collections, and carcasses were analyzed to determine sublethal exposure to organochlorines. Brains of birds found dead or moribund were analyzed to determine whether the birds had died of organochlorine poisoning. Residues of DDE were found most frequently (96 of 105 carcasses analyzed), PCBs were second (detected in 90 carcasses), and dieldrin and TDE (detected in 37 and 35 carcasses, respectively) were about equal as third and fourth most frequent. Endrin, mirex, toxaphene, and HCB were found least often (8, 9, 9, and 9 carcasses, respectively). At least one organochlorine was found in each carcass, except for six heron chicks found dead in a Maryland heronry. DDE and PCBs were present in highest concentrations; they exceeded 100 ppm in two birds each. Organochlorine concentrations were almost always higher in adult herons than in immature birds. All birds that had hazardous or lethal concentrations in the brain were adults, and most were great blue herons (Ardea herodias). Dieldrin was the chemical most often considered responsible for death. Herons died of suspected DDT and dieldrin poisoning years after the chemicals were banned in the United States. More than 20 percent of the herons found dead or moribund had lethal or hazardous concentrations of organochlorines in the brain.

Concentration of Kepone residues in water collected from the James River estuary in 1976-78 ranged from 0 to 1.20 ppb. The majority of water samples collected showed no detectable residues. Kepone concentrations at the surface and bottom of the water column were similar. Water column residues varied according to seasonal and spatial differences. Levels peaked during the summer months and averaged higher in the middle reach of the estuary. Residues in the water were 1-5 orders of magnitude lower than reported residues in James River bed sediments. There was a significant correlation between water column and underlying bed sediment residues.

Fillets from 99 fish, representing 11 species and three areas within Lake Texoma, were examined for residues of common organochlorines. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the relationship of residues in fish fillets to trophic level and to geographical location of the sample. Most species contained PCBs at levels up to 100 ng/g and p,p'-DDE as high as 127 ng/g. p,p'-TDE and o,p'-DDT were not found in carnivores, but were present in herbivores and detritivores in amounts up to 36 ng p,p'-TDE/g and 17 ng o,p'-DDT/g. Heptachlor also was not found in carnivores, but was present as high as 37 ng/g in the other two classes. Chlordane ranged to 24 ng/g and was detected in all trophic levels. Dieldrin and p,p'-DDT were present in detritivores and carnivores up to 144 ng dieldrin/g and 410 ng p,p'-DDT/g. Neither substance was found in herbivores. Mirex, endrin, and heptachlor epoxide were present only at low levels. Statistically significant differences (P = 0.05) were found between trophic levels for seven of the eleven organochlorine compounds. No correlation (P = 0.05) was found between fillet concentrations of any parameter and geographical location of the sample.

From two locations in Manitoba suspected of mercury pollution, waterfowl were collected during 1971 and 1972 to determine the incidence and nature of the contamination. Total mercury concentrations averaged 0.18 ppm and 0.22 ppm in breast muscle of 169 adult dabbling (Anatini) and 77 adult diving ducks (Aythyini, Mergini, and Oxyurini), respectively. Mercury concentrations in breast muscles of immature ducks of these tribes averaged 0.15 ppm total mercury for 70 dabblers and 0.16 ppm for 40 divers. Mean mercury residues in livers were 0.54 ppm and 0.31 ppm, respectively, in 60 adults and 30 immature dabblers and 0.93 ppm and 0.29 ppm, respectively, in 31 adults and 15 immature divers. Primary feathers of 20 adult and 12 immature dabblers collected in the Saskatchewan River Delta averaged 2.67 ppm and 1.34 ppm, while 10 adult and 7 immature divers averaged 1.48 ppm and 1.11 ppm, respectively. Only in 20 ducks, 10 dabblers and 10 divers, did mercury concentrations in the breast muscle exceed 0.50 ppm. Statistically significant relationships for the concentration of mercury in feathers to breast muscle, feathers to liver, and breast muscle to liver were found for spring adults and for immature dabbling ducks. The only significant relationship for divers was feather to liver concentrations for immature ducks and breast muscle to liver concentrations of spring adults in 1972 in the Saskatchewan River Delta.

Organochlorine residues and shell thicknesses were surveyed in eggs of the clapper rail (Rallus longirostris), purple gallinule (Porphyrula martinica), common gallinule (Gallinula chloropas), and limpkin (Aramus guarauna) from the eastern and southern United States. Clapper rail eggs were collected during 1972-73 in New Jersey, Virginia, and South Carolina. During 1973-74, gallinule eggs were collected in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana, and limpkin eggs were collected in Florida. Egg contents were analyzed for residues of organochlorine pesticides, including DDT, TDE, DDE, dieldrin, mirex, heptachlor epoxide, oxychlordane, cis-chlordane (and/or trans-nonachlor), cis-nonachlor, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), toxaphene, and endrin, and for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Shell thicknesses of recent eggs of these species were compared with archival eggs that had been collected before 1947. With the exception of the limpkin, the majority of eggs analyzed contained residues of p,p'-DDE and PCBs. Geometric means ranged from 0.10 ppm to 1.3 ppm. Small amounts (less than 1.0 ppm) of mirex, dieldrin, cis-chlordane (and/or trans-nonachlor), TDE, and DDT were detected in a few eggs. No evidence of eggshell thinning was found for any of the species studied. DDE residues in clapper rail eggs were higher in New Jersey and Virginia than in South Carolina.

Between 1945 and 1965, 1.82 million hectares, or about 17 percent of the total commercial forestland in Oregon, were treated with 2.02 million kg DDT. Detectable residues of this insecticide might be present in forest soils, even those which have never received a direct application of insecticide. Forest floor and mineral soil samples were collected along four east-west transects across the Coast and Cascade Ranges. DDT residues were found in all samples, even though all but one site had never received a direct application of insecticide. In the Coast Ranges, mean concentrations of sigma DDT in forest floor samples were 0.049 ppm at the coast and 0.047, 0.064, 0.075, and 0.119 ppm at 16, 32, 48, and 64 km inland, respectively. Mean residue levels in the surface layers of mineral soil were much lower, 0.009 ppm and 0.006 ppm in the 0 to 7.5-cm and 7.5 to 15-cm depths, respectively. Sampling sites along the Cascade Range transects were selected on the basis of elevation except that the eastern site of each transect was located 16 km east of the crest of the Cascades. Residue concentrations in forest floor samples were three to four times higher than in the Coast Ranges, but were still below 0.50 ppm. In general, sigma DDT levels increased with increasing elevation up to 1,372 meters and then decreased quite sharply east of the crest. Variations can be explained on the basis of total rainfall distribution and by transect location relative to agricultural and metropolitan centers.

Heavy DDT contamination resulting from a former DDT manufacturing plant in northern Alabama has influenced statewide averages of DDT, DDE, and TDE residues in duck wings tested in the National Pesticide Monitoring Program. In states where contaminant levels in duck wings are high, residue analyses of wings categorized by finer geographic subdivision may be useful in defining the areas of heaviest contamination.

DDE, TDE, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as Aroclors 1260 and 1254 were detected in low concentrations in eggs of western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) from Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah. DDE was the only contaminant which was both negatively correlated with eggshell thickness and a significant variable in a multiple regression model for predicting eggshell thickness. The eggshell thickness index for western grebe decreased 2.3 percent from pre- to post-DDT-use periods. Incubation stage appeared to have no measurable correlation with eggshell thickness. The small amount of eggshell thinning seen in western grebe eggs at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge appeared to have no detectable effect on reproduction.

Seven species of freshwater Pelecypoda, Amblema costata, Corbicula manilensis, Elliptio crassidens, lampsilis anadontoides, Lampsilis claibornensis, Megalonaias gigantea, and Plectomerus dombeyanus, were collected and monitored for pesticide content during 1972 and 1973. Thirteen collection sites, representing five major river basins in the state of Mississippi, were sampled and compared. During the 24-month study, 26 water samples and 58 claim samples from the five river basins were analyzed. Individual samples weighed from 8 g to 20 g and consisted of 1-30 clams, depending on size. Residues of toxaphene and methyl parathion were found only in 1973 water samples. The study shows that freshwater clams are effective monitors of pesticide content. The tendency of clams to concentrate pesticides and their corresponding ability to eliminate them varies with species. Significant reductions in DDT and a corresponding buildup of p,p'-TDE were noted in 1973, following the limitations on the use of DDT and large-scale flooding throughout the state.

Black duck (Anas rubripes) eggs were collected during 1978 in the Atlantic Flyway. One egg from each of 49 clutches was analyzed for organochlorine compounds and mercury. DDE was detected in 39 eggs, ranging from 0.09 ppm to 3.4 ppm, wet weight. DDE residues were highest in eggs from Delaware, where the mean DDE level was 2.0 ppm. DDT and TDE were present at low levels in only five and four eggs, respectively. PCBs resembling Aroclor 1260 were detected in 24 eggs and ranged from 0.43 ppm to 2.9 ppm. Eggs from Massachusetts and Rhode Island contained an average of greater than 1.0 ppm PCBs, but eggs from Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia contained no detectable PCBs. Dieldrin, oxychlordane, and heptachlor epoxide were present in a few samples at low levels. Mercury was detected in 31 eggs, ranging from 0.07 ppm to 0.34 ppm, wet weight. Twenty eggs analyzed for chromium, copper, and arsenic contained averages of 0.64 ppm, 1.7 ppm, and 0.18 ppm, respectively. No geographic pattern was observed in these metal residue levels. Eggshell thickness (0.347 mm) was identical to the pre-1946 norm.