Bimonthly variability of persistent organochlorines in plastic pellets from four beaches in Mumbai coast, India

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2015-07, Vol.187 (7), p.469-469, Article 469
• Main Authors: Jayasiri, H. B., Purushothaman, C. S., Vennila, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bathing Beaches - statistics & numerical data; Beaches; Bioaccumulation; Chemicals; Coasts; DDT; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Food chains; Heptachlor; Heptachlor - analysis; Hexachlorocyclohexane; Hexachlorocyclohexane - analysis; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis; India; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Organic compounds; Organochlorine compounds; Organochlorine pesticides; PCB; Pesticides; Pesticides - analysis; Plastic pollution; Plastics; Plastics - analysis; Pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polyethylene; R&D; Research & development
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-015-4531-5

Organochlorines (OCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were analysed in plastic pellets collected from four beaches of Mumbai coast bimonthly from May 2011 to March 2012. A total of 72 pools of pellets were extracted and analysed by gas chromatograph equipped with a Ni 63 electron capture detector (ECD). The median concentrations of seven ΣPCBs and 16 ΣOCPs were 37.08 and 104.90 ng g −1 ( n  = 72), respectively. PCB-28 was recorded at the highest concentration with a mean of 17.58 ± 2.77 ng g −1 among the seven PCBs studied, followed by PCB-52 and PCB-101. Bimonthly variation was significant for ΣPCBs. The ΣPCB concentration in November was at par with that of September and was significantly higher than those of the other months ( p