Organochlorine and organophosphorous pesticide residues in ground water and surface waters of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

A survey undertaken in Kanpur, northern India, has shown the presence of high concentrations of both organochlorine and organophosphorous pesticides in the surface and ground water samples. Liquid-liquid extraction followed by GC-ECD was used for the determination of these compounds. Among the various pesticides analyzed, high concentrations of γ-HCH (0.259 μg/l) and malathion (2.618 μg/l) were detected in the surface water samples collected from the River Ganges in Kanpur. In the ground water samples collected from the various hand pumps located in agricultural and industrial areas, apart from γ-HCH and malathion, dieldrin was also detected. The maximum concentration values of γ-HCH, malathion and dieldrin were 0.900, 29.835 and 16.227 μg/l, respectively. Especially, the concentration of malathion was found to be much higher than the EC water quality standards in the ground water samples from industrial area posing a high risk to the common people. Pesticides like DDE, DDT, aldrin, ethion, methyl parathion and endosulfan were not detected in both the surface and ground water samples.