New and legacy pesticidal persistent organic pollutants in the agricultural region of the Sultanate of Oman

Hassan Alshemmari; Mohammed M Al-Kasbi; Yasar N Kavil; Mohammed I Orif; Ebtesam K Al-Hulwani; Rawya J Al-Darii; Suleiman M Al-Shukaili; Fawaz A A Al-Balushi; Paromita Chakraborty

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132205

New and legacy pesticidal persistent organic pollutants in the agricultural region of the Sultanate of Oman

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Oct 5:459:132205. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132205. Epub 2023 Aug 2.

Authors

Hassan Alshemmari¹, Mohammed M Al-Kasbi², Yasar N Kavil³, Mohammed I Orif⁴, Ebtesam K Al-Hulwani², Rawya J Al-Darii², Suleiman M Al-Shukaili², Fawaz A A Al-Balushi², Paromita Chakraborty⁵

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Pollution and Climate Program, Environment & Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box: 24885, Safat 13109, State of Kuwait; Stockholm Convention Regional Center for Capacity-Building and the Transfer of Technology for West Asia (SCRC-Kuwait), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box: 24885, Safat 13109, State of Kuwait.
² Department of Chemical and Waste Management, Environment Authority, PO. Box 323, Muscat P.C:100, Sultanate of Oman.
³ Stockholm Convention Regional Center for Capacity-Building and the Transfer of Technology for West Asia (SCRC-Kuwait), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box: 24885, Safat 13109, State of Kuwait; Marine Chemistry Department, Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80207, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Marine Chemistry Department, Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80207, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Environmental Science and Technology Laboratory, Centre for Research in Environment, Sustainability Advocacy and Climate Change (REACH), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, India. Electronic address: paromitc@srmist.edu.in.

PMID: 37604036
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132205

Abstract

Comprehensive air and surface soil monitoring was conducted for new and legacy organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) to fill the knowledge and data gap on the sources and fate of pesticidal persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Sultanate of Oman. DDTs in agricultural soil samples ranged from 0.013 to 95.80 ng/g (mean: 8.4 ± 25.06 ng/g), with a median value of 0.07 ng/g. The highest concentration was observed at Shinas, where intensive agricultural practice is prevalent. The dominance of p,p'-DDT in soil and air reflected technical DDT formulation usage in Oman. Among newly enlisted POPs, pentachlorobenzene had the maximum detection frequency in air (47%) and soil (41%). Over 90% of sites reflected extensive past use of hexachlorobenzene. Major OCP isomers and metabolites showed net volatilisation from the agricultural soil, thereby indicating concurrent emission and re-emission processes from the soil of Oman. However, the cleansing effect of oceanic air mass is the possible reason for relatively lower atmospheric OCP levels from a previous study. Although DDT displayed maximum cancer risk, the level is below the permissible limit. DDT primarily stemmed from obsolete stock and inadequate management practices. Hence, we suggest there is a need for DDT regulation in Oman.

Keywords: Agricultural Soil; Cancer risk assessment; Organochlorine pesticides.