PT03 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT036) Organochlorine Pesticides in Commercially Available Potting Soils.
Corbitt, Caitlin1, Falconer, Renee1, 1 Chatham College, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
ABSTRACT- This study examined concentrations and enantiomeric ratios of organochlorine pesticides in commercially available potting soils. Various potting soils were purchased from a local gardening store chain with consideration for different additives (fertilizers, growth stimulants, etc.) and soil sources (peat moss, compost, etc.). The soils were analyzed for concentrations of several past-use pesticides and their metabolites including DDT, chlordane, oxychlordane, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin and hexachlorocyclohexane. Previous work has shown greatly variable levels of past-use pesticides in agricultural and home garden soils, but research on the presence of pesticides in commercially available potting soils is lacking. Preliminary results of this study show the presence of past-use pesticides, although concentrations were near or at detection limits for most compounds. No correlations were found between additives or soil sources and concentrations. Enantiomeric analysis of chiral pesticides was done for samples with detectable levels. Non-racemic signatures of chiral pesticides suggest microbial breakdown has occurred, even though soil half-lives for most of these compounds are on the order of decades.
Key words: pesticides, organochlorines, potting soil