PT03 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT023) Ambient air concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Northern Lake Victoria watershed.
Wejuli, M1, 2, Muir, D2, Kiremire, B1, Hecky, R3, 1 Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda2 National Water Research Institute, Burlington, Ontario, Canada3 University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT- Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were determined in high volume air samples from the Northern Lake Victoria watershed in Uganda. Some of these compounds in form of organochlorine (OCs) pesticides are still in use in the East African region for agricultural purposes and for the control of mosquitoes. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are expected to be present due to heavy use of diesel tracks and tractors for agricultural purposes, gasoline vehicles and burning of agricultural fields and garbage. However, no study has been conducted to investigate atmospheric transport and deposition of PAHs or OC pesticides in this region. In this study, ambient air concentration of 15 selected OCs and 30 selected PAHs were determined at Kakira near Jinja in Uganda. Air samples (24 hr; 250 m3) were collected approximately every 8 days in 1999-2002. The average values for p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE were 60, 21, and 57 pg/m3, respectively. Chlordane, dieldrin, and hexachlorobenzene were also routinely detected averaging 5-100 pg/m3. These values were compared to values for the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network in southern Ontario, Canada and found to be much higher except for HCB. The most frequently detected current use OCs in air at Kakira were 
-endosulfan and lindane which averaged 92 and 70 pg/m3. Total PAH concentrations in air (gas phase) ranged from 27-300 pg/m3 and were highest for naphthalene, phananthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene, followed by acridine, anthracene, benzo(b&j)fluoranthene and dibenzothiophene. These values were generally lower than found in rural air samples from the Northern American Great Lakes region
Key words: organochlorine pesticides, air, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, Africa