title: Atmospheric monitoring of organochlorine pesticides across some West African countries.
abstract: Most African countries have ratified the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and are expected to reduce emissions of POPs such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) to the atmosphere. Emerging evidence, however, suggests that there are contemporary sources of OCPs in African countries despite the global ban on these products. This study investigated the atmospheric contamination from OCPs in four West African countries-Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon-to ascertain the emission levels of OCPs and the characteristic signatures of contamination. Polyurethane foam (PUF) disk passive air samplers (PAS) were deployed in each country for ca. 55 days in 2012 and analyzed for 25 OCPs. Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and DDTs constituted the highest burden of atmospheric OCPs in the target countries, at average concentrations of 441 pg m-3(range 23-2718) and 403 pg m-3(range 91-1880), respectively. Mirex had the lowest concentration, ranged between 0.1 and 3.3 pg m-3. The concentration of OCPs in rainy season was higher than in dry season in Cameroon, and presupposed inputs from agriculture during the rainy season. The concentrations of ∑25 OCPs in each country were in the following order: Cameroon > Nigeria > Benin > Togo. There was significant evidence, based on chemical signatures of the contamination that DDT, aldrin, chlordane, and endosulfan were recently applied at certain sites in the respective countries.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Nahomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Isogai
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. jhogarh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jonathan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Hogarh
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba, 305-8604, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuyasu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seike
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba, 305-8604, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuso
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobara
authors.affiliation: Environmental Laboratories Limited, P. O. Box 15104, Ikeja G.P.O., Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Femi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oyediran
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, 259-1211, Japan.
authors.forename: Mengnjo J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wirmvem
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, P. O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Samuel N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Ayonghe
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fobil
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masunaga
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western; D000383:Agriculture; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001272:Atmosphere; D002163:Cameroon; D002706:Chlordan / Q000032:analysis; D004726:Endosulfan / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000032:analysis; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis*; D009549:Nigeria; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis*; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000032:analysis; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D011140:Polyurethanes; D002706:Chlordan; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; C028279:polyurethane foam; D004726:Endosulfan
keywords: Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs); Passive air sampling; Persistent organic pollutants (POPs); West Africa