A review of existing data on the occurrence of pesticides in water of the river Danube and its tributaries

Data on the occurrence and levels of pesticide residues in the river Danube and its tributaries collected from 10 Danube riparian countries are presented. Most of the findings relate to organochlorine pesticides (HCH isomers, HCB, and DDT), atrazine and desethylatrazine. Simazine and chlorinated phenols (2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol) are also reported. The contamination levels were at the order of 10(-2) mu g/l for both lindane and DDT except for Romania where higher values have been found. The concentrations of atrazine were at the level of 10(-1) mu g/l.