Residues of organic chlorinated pesticides in agricultural soils of Beijing, China

Concentration of organic chlorinated pesticides (OCPs) were measured in topsoils of a selected farm (NK farm) in Beijing in 1993 and 2003. The results indicated that OCPs, mainly 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and 1,1,1,-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT), degraded greatly in the 20 years after the prohibition of their use. DDT was the major contributors of pollution on the farm with 92.23% and 81.28% contributions of total OCP load in soils in 2003 and 1993 respectively. The levels of total DDT and HCH in the old orchard group, in which cultivation began in 1962, were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the new orchard group in which cultivation began in 1991, and all data were higher than the level of barren land (p < 0.05). Studying the isomeric and parent substance metabolite ratios indicated there was more application and accumulation of DDT in the old orchard and that DDT in the new orchard had undergone a different degradation time period or perhaps had been applied more recently, but no new input of HCH was detected. Pollution potential was assessed on the basis of China Soil Environmental Quality Standard.