Evaluation of persistent organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in Umgeni River bank soil, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Authors

  • Emmanuel Gakuba School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag x54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
  • Brenda Moodley School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag x54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
  • Patrick Ndungu 1. School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag x54001, Durban 4000, South Africa; 2.Department of Applied Chemistry, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Grace Birungi Chemistry Department, College of Science, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, PO Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/wsa/2019.v45.i4.7540

Keywords:

Umgeni River, bank soil, OCPs, PCBs, gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Abstract

This study investigated the presence and distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil collected along the banks of the Umgeni River, one of the largest rivers in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The analysis was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the levels of OCPs ranged from 3.58±0.09 ng/g for hexachlorobenzene (HCB) to 82.65±2.82 ng/g for HCH, with an individual mean concentration of 24.33±2.00 ng/g dry weight (dw). The levels of PCBs ranged from 10.46 ng/g for PCB105 to 89.46 ng/g for PCB180, with an average PCB value of 25.47±1.26 ng/g, dw. The highest levels of OCPs and PCBs were found at Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant (mean OCP: 32.39±3.97 ng/g and PCB: 67.87±1.67 ng/g). The two most abundant contaminants in the river were endrin and PCB180.

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Published

2019-10-29

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 4 October (2019): Water SA

Section

Research paper

License

Copyright (c) 2019 Emmanuel Gakuba, Brenda Moodley, Patrick Ndungu, Grace Birungi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License

The content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.  Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal under the terms of this Licence, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, provided the source is attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors.

How to Cite

Gakuba, E. (2019) “Evaluation of persistent organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in Umgeni River bank soil, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”, Water SA, 45(4 October). doi:10.17159/wsa/2019.v45.i4.7540.