title: Bimonthly variability of persistent organochlorines in plastic pellets from four beaches in Mumbai coast, India.
abstract: Organochlorines (OCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were analysed in plastic pellets collected from four beaches of Mumbai coast bimonthly from May 2011 to March 2012. A total of 72 pools of pellets were extracted and analysed by gas chromatograph equipped with a Ni(63) electron capture detector (ECD). The median concentrations of seven ΣPCBs and 16 ΣOCPs were 37.08 and 104.90 ng g(-1) (n = 72), respectively. PCB-28 was recorded at the highest concentration with a mean of 17.58 ± 2.77 ng g(-1) among the seven PCBs studied, followed by PCB-52 and PCB-101. Bimonthly variation was significant for ΣPCBs. The ΣPCB concentration in November was at par with that of September and was significantly higher than those of the other months (p < 0.05) with an increasing trend during the monsoon period. Among the OCPs, γ-HCH recorded the highest concentration with a mean of 33.88 ± 5.97 ng g(-1) followed by heptachlor and α-HCH. The ΣOCPs and ΣHCHs are not significantly varied among the months and sites. However, significant variation was observed for ΣDDTs among the months and sites (p < 0.05). The significantly higher concentration of ΣDDT (46.55 ± 12.23 ng g(-1)) was found in January than in the other months while it was intermediate in November. The study confirmed that plastic pellets are a trap for various cyclodine compounds in addition to PCB, HCH and DDT. Further, pellets can be used to study the temporal variability for a range of organic micropollutants.
authors.affiliation: National Aquatic Resources, Research and Development Agency, National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Sciences, Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka, hbjayasiri@gmail.com.
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Jayasiri
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Purushothaman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vennila
mesh_terms: D001493:Bathing Beaches / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006533:Heptachlor / Q000032:analysis; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000032:analysis; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis*; D007194:India; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D010969:Plastics; C009407:2,5,2',5'-tetrachlorobiphenyl; C040534:alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; D006533:Heptachlor; C009828:2,4,5,2',5'-pentachlorobiphenyl; C081766:2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls