Jin-Ho Ro

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Residues in Greenhouse Soil and Strawberry–Organochlorine Pesticides

BACKGROUND: Residual organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effect to human health and the environment. They were designated as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by Stockholm Convention. Greenhouse strawberry is economic crop in agriculture, and its cultivation area and yield has been increased. Therefore, we tried to investigate the POPs residue in greenhouse soil and strawberry.METHODS AND RESULTS: Extraction and clean-up method for the quantitative analysis of OCPs was developed and validated by gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detector (ECD). The clean-up method was established using the modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe(QuEChERS) method for OCPs in soil and strawberry. Limit of quantitation (LOQ) and recovery rates of OCPs in greenhouse soil and strawberry were 0.9-6.0 and 0.6-0.9 μg/kg, 74.4-115.6 and 75.6-88.4%, respectively. The precision was reliable sincerelative standard deviation (RSD) percentage (0.5-3.7 and 2.9-5.2%) was below 20, which was the normal percent value. The residue of OCPs in greenhouse soil was analyzed by the developed method, and dieldrin, β-endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate were detected at 1.6-23, 2.2-28.4 and 1.8-118.6 μg/kg, respectively. Those in strawberry were not detected in all samples.CONCLUSION: Dieldrin, β-endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate in a part of investigated greenhouse soil were detected. But those were not detected in investigated greenhouse strawberry. These results showed that the residue in greenhouse soil were lower level than bioaccumulation occurring.