Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticide in Water and Sediment Samples Collected from EI-Rahawy Drain, Egypt

The concentrations of organochlorine pesticides were determined in surface water and bed sediments from El Rahawy drain in the south-western part of Nile Delta. Results obtained show that the concentration of hDDT compounds in surface water range from 0.008 to 0.239 J.lgL-1 and from 0.011 to 3.10 J.lgkg-1 (dry weight) in bed sediments during wet and dry seasons. Hexachlocyclohexanes (HCHs) have also been widely used in the region but the current environmental concentrations are slightly higher than those of DDTʹs, which is due to the less persistence of those compounds. Cyclodienes (Cds) were measured, for example as endosulfan II, in concentrations range from 0.021 to 0.823 J.lgL-1 and 0.09 to 1.73 J.lgkg-1 (dry weight) in surface water and bed sediments, respectively. The investigation of OCPs in the surface water and sediments are still within safety margins compared to Canadian guidelines.