Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

DOI 10.1007/s00128-017-2090-x

Assessment of DDT and Metabolites in Soil and Sediment

of Potentially Contaminated Areas of Belém, Amazon Region, Brazil

Andreia Oliveira Rodrigues1 · Larissa Costa de Souza1 ·

Cássia Christina da Silva Rocha1 · Amilton Cesar Gomes da Costa1 · Rosivaldo de
Alcântara Mendes1

Received: 10 January 2017 / Accepted: 11 April 2017

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the dis- tribution of DDT and
metabolites in surface soils and soil profiles from two areas containing
deposits of obsolete pesticides in Belém, Amazon Region, Brazil. DDT and
metabolites were extracted by microwave assisted extrac- tion and analyzed by gas
chromatography with electron capture detection. Concentrations of total DDT in
surface soil samples ranged from 64.22 mg kg−1 in area 1 (A1) to
447.84 mg kg−1 in area 2 (A2). Lower levels were found in
soil profiles than at the surface (6.21–21.17 mg kg−1 in A1 and 36.13–113.66 mg
kg−1 in A2). pp’-DDT, pp′-DDE and pp′-DDD were detected in sediments at levels of
2.01, 0.96 and 0.35 mg kg−1, respectively. The ratio (DDE +DDD)/ ΣDDT was low
indicating the recent introduction of DDT to the environment in the two study
areas, through the volatilization and atmospheric deposition of the obsolete
pesticides.

Keywords Contamination · DDT · Rivers · Sediment · Soil

DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-di(4-chlorophenyl) ethane) was used very effectively for

several years to control pests and diseases such as malaria. The Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants banned DDT in several coun- tries,
including Brazil, due to its harmful effects, which include high environmental
persistence and chemical sta- bility, toxicity, and bioaccumulation (Turusov et al.
2002;

* Rosivaldo de Alcântara Mendes rosivaldomendes@iec.pa.gov.br

1 Environmental Section, Evandro Chagas Institute, Rodovia

BR 316 Km 07, Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil
ATSDR 2005). It has low solubility in water due to its hydrophobic characteristics,
and a high adsorption capacity (Falandysz et al. 2001). In 1991, the International
Agency for Research on Cancer classified DDT as a possible human carcinogen, with
potential links to pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia, and it can act
as an endocrine disrup- tor as well (Beard 2006; Cohn 2011).
Residues of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides are present in almost all
ecosystems and various environ- mental matrices. Their high environmental
persistence and low degradability, which result from their high soil half-life
(Zhao et al. 2010), allow them to remain in the environment for long periods, and
to contaminate water, soil, and food (Kim and Smith 2001). DDT can be transported
from one environment to another through volatilization, leaching, erosion, and
chemical decomposition (Aigner et al. 1998).
Soil is an important site for the deposit of persis- tent organic
pollutants and it may become contaminated through atmospheric deposition or direct
contact. Atmos- pheric deposition is one of the most influential factors in
environmental exposure to organochlorine pesticides (Tar- cau et al. 2013). In the
past, through spraying, manufactur- ing processes, storage, and disposal, large
amounts of DDT have been deposited in the ground, where it infiltrated the soil and
the water table (Villa et al. 2006; Guo et al. 2009). Accidents during transport
and storage have been the main cause of pesticide contamination (Felsot et al.
2003).
In Brazil during the early 1940s, more than 6 million cases of malaria,
corresponding to 15% of the popula- tion, occurred annually. A Brazilian government
pro- gram, the malaria eradication campaign (CEM), reduced the annual number of
cases to approximately 40,000 by the end of the 1960s (Loiola et al. 2002).
Thousands of tons of DDT were used in the Amazonian states to com- bat malaria, as
99% of Brazil’s confirmed malaria cases

1 3
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

had been recorded in the region, including Pará, wich had the highest malaria
incidence. In 1991, the Ministry of Health purchased about 3 tons of DDT (D’Amato
et al.
2002). However, in 1998, the use of DDT in public health campaigns was banned in
Brazil, and DDT and other pes- ticides stored in deposits throughout the country
were recognized as an environmental threat. There are exposed or potentially
exposed populations in 750 areas of Bra- zil, of which 128 are identified as former
pesticide depos- its, 64 are no longer pesticide deposits and are used for other
purposes, 23 are classified as suspected contamina- tion areas, and 41 are
classified as potentially contami- nated areas, with DDT and other pesticide
residues on- site awaiting appropriate disposal or storage (FUNASA
2013).
This study aims to evaluate the distribution of DDT and metabolites in surface
soils and soil profiles from two deposits of obsolete pesticides in Belém, Amazon
Region, Brazil. These deposits served as regional DDT distribution points for the
National Foundation of Health (FUNASA), and DDT waste is dispersed across the areas
in soil and stored in glass bottles, plastic bags, and pack- ages. We aim to verify
whether the DDT levels in the soil pose an environmental risk to the health of
adjacent populations.
Materials and Methods

Belém (S 01°27′21″, W 48°30′16″) is the capital of Pará, located in the north

of Brazil (Fig. 1) in the Amazon. Belém has approximately 1,400,000
inhabitants, an area of 1070 km2, an average annual temperature of 28°C, and a
relative humidity of around 87%. The Guajará Bay is an Amazonian estuary adjacent
to Belém, with low and high depth zones, and is greatly impacted by domestic waste
and industrial effluents. Belém was a pesticide distribution point for Pará, and it
now contains deposits of obsolete pes- ticides, under the control of FUNASA.
For this study, we collected samples at two the FUNASA locations, from points
distributed near where the pesticides are stored in broken glass bottles and
plastic containers. These areas served as pesticide deposits and are currently
decommissioned. They are located near residential areas yet still contain
stockpiles of pesticides awaiting disposal. The first area sampled (A1) is
approximately 500 m2, and is located in the southern central area of Belém, near
the main access roads to the city. It contains a single shed lined with several
intact plastic containers containing DDT. We collected soil samples at five points
in this area. The sec- ond area (A2) is located in the city’s historical center on
the shores of Guajará Bay. It is approximately 1200 m2 and

Fig. 1 Localization of study area

1 3
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

was used as a DDT distribution point for communities near Belém, for which boats
are the main means of transport. A2 has two large deposits of obsolete pesticides,
the first containing glass bottles and the second containing plastic containers and
bags of pesticides. We collected six soil samples and four sediment samples in this
area along the Guajará Bay. Soil profiles were sampled at two different depths: 20–
50 cm and 50–100 cm. Soil and sediment sam- ples (1 kg) were collected from each
site using a stainless steel sampler. Equipment used for sample collection was
rinsed with hexane and acetone. The samples were packed in chemically clean
polyethylene bags and transported to the laboratory where they were immediately
stored. Soil and sediment samples were air-dried, sieved through 250 mesh stainless
steel sieves, and packaged and stored in amber glass bottles at −20°C for
laboratory analysis.
Analytical standards of pp′-DDT, pp′-DDE, pp′-DDD, op′-DDT, op′-DDE, and op′-DDD
were acquired from ChemService (West Chester, PA, USA). High purity rea- gents and
solvents (pesticide grade solvents) were obtained from Mallinckrodt (St. Louis, MO,
USA). Soil and sedi- ment samples (2 g each) were extracted by microwave assisted
extraction (MAE) using a Mars Xpress Xtraction (CEM Corporation, Matthews, NC,
USA), in 20 mL of n-hexane/acetone (8:2, v/v). The samples were heated to an
initial temperature of 30°C for 2 min, then gradually heated to 100°C (10°C min−1)
and left for 20 min. MAE used
800 W of power. After extraction, the samples were concen- trated to 2 mL in a
rotary vacuum evaporator. The organic extract from the chromatographic analysis was
purified on solid phase extraction cartridges packed with 2 g of deac- tivated
silica gel and 1 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate, and eluted with portions of hexane
and n-hexane/dichlorometh- ane (1:1, v/v). After elution, samples were concentrated
to
0.2 mL under N2 at a flow rate of 5 mL min−1, and the resi-
due dissolved in 1 mL eluted by n-hexane.
For quantitative analysis, we used the CP 3800 gas chromatograph with electron
capture detection (GC-ECD)
(Varian, Palo Alto, CA, USA) equipped with Workstation
5.0 software to process the chromatographic data. A fused silica capillary column
(30 m ×0.32 mm internal diameter,
0.25 µM film thickness; CP SIL-8CB, J & W Scientific, Folsom, CA, USA) was used to
separate the analytes. The temperature was ramped to 150°C in 1 min, and then from
150 to 250°C in 5 min (6°C min−1). The N2 (99.999%) car- rier gas had a flow rate
of 1.2 mL min−1. The injector was
operated in the splitless mode at 250°C. The detector tem- perature was 300°C.
We performed blank analyses to test for interference in the samples, carried
out recovery tests in triplicate on fortified samples and standard reference
material (SRM
1944 NIST, Gaithersburg, MD, USA), and analyzed the results according to the method
described above for ana- lytical quality control. Soil and sediment were fortified
at
50 µg g−1 of pesticide mixture (op′- and pp′-DDT, DDE,
DDD). The results for the fortified samples and standard reference materials ranged
from 83.2% to 94.6% and 73.5% to 88.7%, respectively, which was within the
acceptable limit for chromatographic tests (70%–120%). We calculated calibration
curves by external standardization with correla- tion coefficient (r) ≥0.99. The
method detection limit was determined to be three times the signal produced by the
signal-to-noise ratio obtained at the baseline of the chroma- togram, and ranged
from 0.01 to 0.05 µg g−1. Results were expressed on a dry weight (dw) basis.
Statistical analyses were performed using Statistica software 7.0. Arithmetic mean,
standard deviation, and maximum and minimum val- ues were determined.

Results and Discussion

Tables 1 and 2 show the average concentrations of total DDT (Σ =op′ +pp′ −DDT, DDE,
DDD). The soil was sam- pled in two very heterogeneous areas, and contamination in
A2 was higher than the amount of obsolete pesticides in the

Table 1 Levels of DDTs in soils to area A1 (µg g−1, dw)

Sample pp′-DDT pp′-DDE pp′-DDD

op′-DDT op′-DDE op′-DDD ΣDDT
mean ±SDa
(min–max)b
mean ±SD (min–
max)
mean ±SD (min–
max)
mean ±SD (min–
max)
mean ±SD (min–
max)
mean ±SD (min–
max)

Surface soil 26.41 ±21.93 (13.35–65.28)

18.94 ±14.4 (5.26–42.91)
9.52 ±4.66 (5.26–17.35)
4.18 ±2.04 (2.12–7.55)
3.34 ±2.07 (1.25–5.65)
1.71 ±1.39 (1.19–2.58)
64.22
Profile soil
(20–50 cm) Profile soil
(50–100 cm)

aStandard deviation
7.67 ±6.66 (1.1–18.51)
2.43 ±2.13 (n.dc–5.32)
5.41 ±3.66 (0.85–10.32)
1.53 ±0.81 (0.64–2.81)
2.81 ±2.77 (n.d–7.41)
0.71 ±0.49 (n.d–1.31)
2.46 ±2.88 (0.63–7.55)
0.76 ±0.75 (n.d–1.98)
1.61 ±1.34 (n.d–3.14)
0.55 ±0.33 (n.d–0.8)
1.21 ±1.38 (n.d–3.6)
0.2 ±0.27 (n.d–0.65)
21.17

6.21
bValues minimum and maximum
cNot detected

1 3
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

Table 2 Levels of DDTs in soils to area A2 (µg g−1, dw)

Sample pp′-DDT pp′-DDE pp′-DDD

op′-DDT op′-DDE op′-DDD ΣDDT
Mean ±SDa
(min–max)b
Mean ±SD (min–
max)
Mean ±SD (min–
max)
Mean ±SD (min–
max)
Mean ±SD (min–
max)
Mean ±SD (min–
max)

Surface soil 289.58 ±476.05 76.72 ±127.68 29.11 ±32.88

37.70 ±70.24 10.93 ±15.51 3.80 ±5.23 447.84
(3.41–1243.68) (0.14–333.53) (0.75–75.78) (0.15–180.15)
(n.d–41.15) (n.d–12.31)
Profile soil
(20–50 cm)

Profile soil
(50–100 cm)
74.89 ±115.57 18.85 ±26.63 11.43 ±11.30 5.57 ±12.06
2.27 ±3.21 0.65 ±0.97 113.66 (1.25–303.15) (0.24–
71.24) (n.d–28.15) (n.d–30.15) (n.d–8.38)
(n.d–2.12)
18.52 ±21.66 11.76 ±12.00 2.83 ±3.27 2.31 ±4.83
0.42 ±0.55 0.29 ±0.54 36.13 (0.12–52.35)
(0.62–32.14) (n.d–8.55) (n.dc–12,2) (n.d–1.23)
(n.d–1.35)
Sediment 2.01 ±0.85 0.96 ±0.73 0.35 ±0.58
– – –
3.32
(1.35–3.20) (0.31–1.92) (0.03–1.23) –
– –

aStandard deviation
bValues minimum and maximum
cNot detected

area would suggest. In A1, the total DDT concentration in the surface soil ranged
from 28.43 to 141.32 mg kg−1, with a mean of 64.22 mg kg−1, and in A2 it ranged
from 4.45 to
1887 mg kg−1, with a mean of 447.84 mg kg−1. Villa et al. (2006) found lower values
than these in the surface soil and soil profiles of obsolete insecticide deposits
in Várzea Grande, Brazil. Additionally, they collected samples at three
different times and the detected DDT values declined over time. In similar studies
conducted in areas of obsolete pesticides in Pakistan, Ahad et al. (2010) found
high lev- els of DDT (247–9157 mg kg−1) and Alamdar et al. (2014) found lower
levels, ranging from 77 to 21,200 ng g−1.
In this study, we found that DDT and metabolites in surface soil decreased with
increasing depth, indicating a low vertical mobility of DDT in soil. This may
reflect the low organic matter content typical of deeper soils. DDT concentrations
were higher in the 20–50 cm soil profiles than in the 50–100 cm soil
profiles. In A1, total DDT concentrations ranged from 2.58 to 50.53 mg kg−1,
with a mean of 21.17 mg kg−1, in 20–50 cm soil profiles, and from 0.64 to 12.87 mg
kg−1, with a mean of 6.21 mg kg−1, in 50–100 cm soil profiles. In A2, total DDT
concentra- tions ranged from 1.49 to 403.19 mg kg−1, with a mean of
113.66 mg kg−1, in the 20–50 cm soil profiles. Values were
lower in the 50–100 cm soil profiles, ranging from 0.74 to
107.82 mg kg−1, with a mean of 36.13 mg kg−1. A study of soil profiles in Tianjin,
China, obtained similar results (Wang et al. 2006). Other studies found lower DDT
con- centrations. Falandysz et al. (2001) found low DDT con- centrations in the
Polish cities Katowice (110 ±89 ng g−1) and Krakovia (260 ±620 ng g−1). DDT and its
metabolites were detected in soil in Beijing, China, with total DDT levels ranging
from 0.03 to 1282 ng g−1, with a mean of
68.14 ±189.46 ng g−1 (Yang et al. 2010). In Mexico, Mar- tínez et al. (2012)
measured DDT and DDE concentrations
in outdoor and indoor soil and dust in three communities in Chihuahua. They found
higher concentrations of DDT than DDE, indicating a recent use of DDT. A study of
the level of DDT in soil and dust in five communities in Chiapas found
concentrations of 0.002 to 26.980 mg kg−1 and n.d to
2119.00 mg kg−1, for soil and dust, respectively. (Martínez-
Salinas et al. 2011). In Monterrey, a non-endemic region of malaria in which DDT
was seldom used in the past, lev- els of DDT, DDE, and total DDT in soils were
lower than those found in this study (Orto-Garcia et al. 2015).
There have been few studies on contamination by DDT in the Amazon region, despite
the location’s widespread use of DDT to fight malaria, which is endemic to the
area. Torres et al. (2002) found DDT concentrations in soil near the Tapajós and
Madeira Rivers between 281–1224 ng g−1 and 4–123 ng g−1, respectively. Saldanha
et al. (2010) measured DDT levels in residential and forest soils and found that
residential soils, where DDT was used indoors to fight malaria, had higher DDT
levels than forest soils.
Residues of pp′-DDT, pp′-DDE, pp′-DDD, op′-DDT, op′-DDE, and op′-DDD were
detected in 91%, 100%, 54%,
45%, 63%, and 36% of samples, respectively. The con- centration of pp′-DDT was
highest in all samples (Figs. 2,
3). This was expected, because commercial DDT consists mainly of pp′-DDT (75%),
followed by op′-DDT (15%) and then pp′-DDE (5%) (Alamdar at al. 2014). Although pp
′- DDT can contaminate environments through drifting and direct application, it
does not penetrate easily into ground- water. The persistence of DDT in soil
depends on factors such as temperature, humidity, and soil type. DDT evapo- rates
and degrades faster, and is less persistent, in tropical regions than in cold
regions (ATSDR 2005).
Over time, DDT is converted to DDE through oxida- tive dechlorination caused by
aerobic bacteria action, or to DDD in anaerobic conditions (Hitch and Day 1992;
Bidlan

1 3
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

Fig. 2 Contribution (%) of DDT and metabolites in soil (Area A1)

Solo perfil (50-100 cm)

Solo Perfil (20-50 cm)

op' - DDD op' - DDE op' - DDT

pp'- DDD

pp'- DDE

pp'- DDT

Solo Superficial

0 50
100

Contribuição %

Fig. 3 Contribution (%) of DDT and metabolites in soil and sediment. (Area A2)

Sedimento Superficial
Solo perfil (50-100 cm) Solo Perfil (20-50 cm)
op' - DDD op' - DDE op' - DDT pp'- DDD pp'- DDE
pp'- DDT

Solo Superficial

0 50 100
Contribuição %

and Manonmani 2002). We found levels of pp′-DDE, the main metabolite of pp′-DDT, to
be higher than pp′-DDD in both surface and profile soils, indicating aerobic
conditions. The ratio (DDE +DDD)/∑DDT was higher than 0.5, indi- cating long-term
degradation of DDT to DDE and DDD. This suggests an older source of environmental
DDT, while a ratio (DDE +DDD)/∑DDT lower than 0.5 would indi- cate a recent source
(Hitch and Day 1992).
In this study, the ratio of (DDE +DDD)/∑DDT in A1 was 0.52 in surface soil and
0.48–0.52 in soil profiles. The ratio in A2 was 0.27 in surface soil and 0.29–0.42
in soil profiles. This lower ratio indicates a slow degradation of DDT to DDE and
DDD as well as a recent introduction of DDT to the area, which may endanger people
in nearby res- idential areas through volatilization and atmospheric depo- sition
of the DDT.
The National Environment Council of Brazil (CON- AMA) mandated maximum values for
DDT, DDD, and DDE in residential and industrial soils of 2 and 5 mg kg−1,
3 and 7 mg kg−1, 1 and 3 mg kg−1, respectively (CONAMA
2009). This study found concentrations higher than the legal limits.
Residues of pp′-DDT, pp′-DDE and pp′-DDD were found in 100% of the sediment
samples, with levels of 2.01,
0.96 and 0.35 mg kg−1, while residues of op′-DDT, op′- DDE, and op′-DDD were not
detected. These results indi- cate DDT sources in Guajará Bay, which harbors
several species of Amazonian fish used as food. Additionally, some points along the
river are used as recreation areas. High levels of DDT in sediments can be
attributed to the prox- imity of Guajará Bay to A2, which is highly contaminated
with DDT. The ratio (DDE +DDD)/∑DDT is 0.39, which indicates a recent introduction
of DDT into the sediments of Guajará Bay. Levels of DDT found in sediments in this
study were higher than in studies by Wasswa et al. (2011), who studied
organochlorine residues in 117 sediment sam- ples collected in four bays of Lake
Victoria; Cheng et al. (2014), who studied sediment samples on the Tibetan pla-
teau; and Alonzo-Hernandez et al. (2014), who conducted a study in the Gulf of
Batabanó, Cuba. Souza et al. (2008) found DDT levels between 10.61 and 37.40 ng g−1
in Gua- nabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A study by Torres et al.
(2002) of sediments from Madeira and Tapajós Riv- ers in the Amazon Region found
DDT levels of 0.8 and
57.5 ng g−1, respectively.
DDT levels in the sediments found in Guajará Bay are above the upper limits
prescribed by CONAMA (2012), which are 3.54–8.51 µg kg−1 (DDD), 1.42–6.75 µg
kg−1

1 3
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

(DDE) and 1.19–4.77 µg kg−1 (DDT). These high levels are concerning due to the
toxic effects of DDT on human health and the environment and require remediation.

Acknowledgements This study was supported by Secretary of the State of Pará

Health (SESPA) and the National Health Foundation (FUNASA).
References

Ahad K, Mohammad A, Khan H, Ahmad I, Hayat Y (2010) Monitor- ing results for
organochlorine pesticides in soil and water from selected obsolete pesticide stores
in Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess 166:191–199
Aigner EJ, Leone AD, Falconer RL (1998) Concentrations and Enan- tiomeric Ratios of
Organochlorine Pesticides in Soils from the U.S. Corn Belt. Environ Sci Technol
32(9):1162–1168
Alamdar A, Syed JH, Malik RN, Katsoyiannis A, Liu J, Li J, Zhang G, Jones KC (2014)
Organochlorine pesticides in surface soils from obsolete pesticide dumping ground
in Hyderabad City, Pakistan: contamination levels and their potential for air–soil
exchange. Sci Total Environ 470–471:733–741
Alonzo-Hernandez CM, Mesa-Albernas M, Tolosa I (2014) Organ- ochlorine pesticides
(OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments from the Gulf of Batabanó,
Cuba. Chemos- phere 94(2014):36–41
ATSDR (2005) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
2005. Toxicological profile for DDT, DDE, DDD. Atlanta
Beard J (2006) DDT and human health. Sci Total Environ 355:78–89
Bidlan R, Manonmani HK (2002) Aerobic degradation of dichlorodi-
phenyltrichloroethane (DDT) by Serratia marcescens DT-1P. Process Biochem 38:49–56
Cheng H, Lin T, Zhang G, Liu G, Zhang H, Qi S, Jones KC, Zhang X (2014) DDTs and
HCHs in sediment cores from the Tibetan Plateau. Chemosphere 94:183–189
Cohn BA (2011) Developmental and environmental origins of breast cancer: DDT as a
case study. Reprod Toxicol 31:302–311
CONAMA (2009) Resolução Nº 420/2009 Dispõe sobre critérios e valores
orientadores de qualidade do solo quanto à presença de substâncias químicas e
estabelece diretrizes para o gerencia- mento ambiental de áreas contaminadas por
essas substâncias em decorrência de atividades antrópicas
CONAMA (2012) Resolução Nº 454/2012 Estabelece as diretrizes gerais e os
procedimentos referenciais para o gerenciamento do material a ser dragado em águas
sob jurisdição nacional
D’Amato C, Torres JPM, Malm O (2002) DDT (dicloro difenil tri- cloroetano):
toxicidade e contaminação ambiental-uma revisão. Química Nova 25(6):995–1002
Falandysz J, Brudnowska B, Kawano M, Wakimoto T (2001) Poly- chlorinated biphenyls
and organochlorine pesticides in soils from the southern part of Poland. Arch
Environ Contam Toxicol
40:173–178
Felsot AS, Racke KD, Hamilton DJ (2003) Disposal and degradation of pesticide
waste. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 177:123–200
FUNASA (2013) Relatório do levantamento de informações sobre locais de
armazenamento de insumos utilizados nas atividades
de controle de endemias pela Fundação Nacional de Saúde
(FUANASA). Projeto Remediar
Guo Y, Yu HY, Zeng EY (2009) Occurrence, source diagnosis, and biological effect
assessment of DDT and its metabolites in vari- ous environmental compartments of
the Pearl River Delta, South China: a review. Environ Pollut 157:1753–1763
Hitch RK, Day HR (1992) Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 48:259–264
Kim JH, Smith A (2001) Distribution of organochlorine pesticides in soils from
South Korea. Chemosphere 43:137–140
Loiola CCP, Silva CJM, Tauil PL (2002) Controle da malária no Bra- sil: 1965 a
2001. Rev Panam Salud Publica 4(11):235–243
Martínez FDB, Acevedo AT, Bentanzos AF, Reyes GE, Torres JAA, Maldonado INP (2012)
Assessment of DDT and DDE levels in soil, dust, and blood samples From Chihuahua,
Mexico. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 62:351–358
Martínez-Salinas RI, Díaz-Barriga F, Batres-Esquivel LE, Pérez- Maldonado IN (2011)
Assessment of the levels of DDT and its metabolites in soil and dust samples from
Chiapas, Mexico. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 86:33–37
Orto-Garcia ST, Ochoa-Martinez AC, Carrizalez-Yanez L, Pérez- Maldonado IN et al
(2015) Persistent organic pollutants and heavy metal concentrations in soil from
Metropolitan Area of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol.
doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0239-3
Saldanha GC, Bastos WR, Torres JPM, Malm O (2010) DDT in fishes and soils of lakes
from Brazilian Amazon: case study of Puruz- inho Lake (Amazon, Brazil). J Braz Chem
Soc 21(2):306–311
Souza AS, Torres JPM, Meire RO, Neves RC, Couri MS, Serejo CS (2008) Organochlorine
pesticides (OCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments and crabs
(Chasmagnathus gran- ulata, Dana, 1851) from mangroves of Guanabara Bay, Rio de
Janeiro State, Brazil. Chemosphere 73:S186–S192
Tarcau D, Man SC, Boruvkova J, Klanova J, Covaci A (2013) Organ- ochlorine
pesticides in soil, moss and tree-bark from North-East- ern Romania. Sci Total
Environ 456–457:317–324
Torres JPM, Pfeiffer WC, Markowitz S, Pause R, Malm O, Japenga J (2002)
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane in soil, river sediment, and fish in the Amazon in
Brazil. Environ Res A 88:134–139
Turusov V, Rakitsky V, Tomatis L (2002) Dichlorodiphenyltrichloro- ethane (DDT):
ubiquity, persistence, and risks. Environ Health Perspect 110(2):125–128
Villa RD, Dores EFGC, Carbo L, Cunha MLF (2006) Dissipation of DDT in a heavily
contaminated soil in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Che- mosphere 64:549–554
Wang X, Piao X, Chen J, Hu J, Xu F, Tao S (2006) Organochlorine pesticides in
soil profiles from Tianjin, China. Chemosphere
64:1514–1520
Wasswa J, Kiremire BT, NKedi-Kizza P, Mbabazi J, Ssebugere P (2011) Organochlorine
pesticide residues in sediments from the Uganda side of Lake Victoria. Chemosphere
82(1):130–136
Yang L, Xia X, Liu S, Bu Q (2010) Distribution and sources of DDTs in urban soils
with six types of land use in Beijing, China. J Haz- ard Mater 174:100–107
Zhao L, Hou H, Zhou Y, Xue N, Li HY, Li F (2010) Distribution and ecological risk
of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in surficial sediments
from Haihe River and Haihe Estuary Area, China. Chemosphere 78:1285–1293

1 3