Organochlorine pesticides and their residues in surface waters of Albania

Abstract

This study presents concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and their residues in some water ecosystems of Albania. The water samples were collected in three ports of Adriatic Sea (Ports of Vlora, Durres and Porto-Romano), in four rivers (Semani, Shkumbini, Erzeni and Mati rivers) and two main lagoons of Albania (Karavasta and Patoku lagoons). 117 water samples were analyzed for a two years period (March 2014-April 2016). Qualitative and quantitative analyze of 31 organochlorine pesticides and their residues based on EPA 8081B Method were realized using technique of gas chromatography with electron capture detector. RTX-5 capillary column was used for separation of organochlorine compounds. The higher concentrations of organochlorine pesticides were found for water samples of Shkumbini River, Semani River and Karavasta Lagoon because of their previous use. Residues of pesticides were in higher level than pesticides because degradation processes. Some individual pesticides were found in higher concentrations in some stations. This could be because of punctual sources or recent use for these pesticides. Organochlorine pesticides concentrations were found to be in lower levels than reported data on previous studies for the same stations.