Organochlorine contamination in the fish of the River Ganges, India

Abstract

Concentrations of persistent organochlorine residues were measured in economically important fish of the River Ganges from different locations in Bihar. The contamination pattern of organochlorines in fishes from several locations was Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) >Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) >aldrin>endosulfan. The average wet weight concentrations in the muscles of fishes was; DDTs, 13.6 to 1665.9 ng g^-1; HCHs, 115.8 to 1206.8 ng g^-1; aldrin, 3.1 to 86.1 ng g^-1; and endosulfan 2.9 to 74.5 ng g^-1. The study indicates that organochlorine contaminants are still entering the Ganges river system, and suggests that the human population that consumes contaminated fish from the river may be at risk from those contaminants.