Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in soil and water samples in the Northeastern part of Sa ˜o Paulo State, Brazil Sandra R. Rissato a, * , Ma ´rio S. Galhiane a , Valdecir F. Ximenes a , Rita M.B. de Andrade b , Jandira L.B. Talamoni c , Marcelo Liba ˆnio d , Marcos V. de Almeida e , Benhard M. Apon f , Aline A. Cavalari g a Department of Chemistry, Paulista State University (UNESP), P.O. Box 473, 17033-360 Bauru, SP, Brazil b Federal Center of Technologic Education of Ceara ´ (CEFET), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil c Department of Biology, Paulista State University (UNESP), Bauru, SP, Brazil d Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Hydric Resource, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil e Department of Bioengineering, University of Sa ˜o Paulo (USP), Sa ˜o Carlos, SP, Brazil f Chromapon Inc., 9815 Carmenite Road Suite J., 90605 Whittier, CA, United States g Department of Bioscience, University of Sa ˜o Paulo (USP), Sa ˜o Paulo, SP, Brazil Received 2 November 2005; received in revised form 6 July 2006; accepted 6 July 2006 Available online 17 August 2006 Abstract Detailed analyses of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloro ethane (DDT) and its metabolites (DDTs) and congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil and surface water from the northeastern Sa ˜ o Paulo, Brazil allowed the evaluation of the contamination status, distribution and possible pollution sources. The pesticides and PCBs demonstrated markedly different distributions, reflecting different agricultural, domestic and industrial usage in each region studied. The ranges of HCH, DDT, and PCBs concentrations in the soil samples were 0.05– 0.92, 0.12–11.01, 0.02–0.25 ng g À1 dry wt, respectively, and in the surface water samples were 0.02–0.6, 0.02–0.58 and 0.02–0.5 ng l À1 , respectively. Overall elevated levels of DDT and PCB were recorded in region 2, a site very close to melting, automotive batteries indus- tries, and agricultural practice regions. High ratios of metabolites of DDT to DDT isomers revealed the recent use of DDT in this envi- ronment. The sources of contamination are closely related to human activities, such as domestic and industrial discharge, street runoff, agricultural pesticides and soil erosion, due to deforestation as well as atmospheric transport. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Organochlorine pesticides; PCBs; Water; Soil 1. Introduction Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a set of chemi- cals that are toxic, persist in the environment for long peri- ods of time, and biomagnify as they move up through the food chain. POPs have been linked to adverse effects on human health and animals, such as cancer, damage to the nervous system, reproductive disorders, and disruption of the immune system. Because they circulate globally via the atmosphere, oceans, and other pathways, POPs released in one part of the world can travel to regions far from their source of origin (UNEP, 2005). With mounting evidence, indicating the long-range transport potential of these substances to regions where they have never been used or produced and the consequent 0045-6535/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.07.011 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 14 3103 6135; fax: +55 14 3203 2856. E-mail address: srissato@fc.unesp.br (S.R. Rissato). www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere Chemosphere 65 (2006) 1949–1958