This paper describes the development and validation of a method for the determination of lindane, heptachlor and two heptachlor transformation products (exo- and endo-heptachlor epoxide) in groundwater. Samples were extracted using a simple solid phase microextraction (SPME) method with a polyacrylate fibre prior to detection by gas chromatography mass spectrometry in electron impact ionisation...

Ever since the discovery of X-rays was made by Röntgen more than a hundred years ago, it has always been accepted that the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation such as mutation and carcinogenesis are attributable mainly to direct damage to DNA. Although evidence based on microdosimetric estimation in support of a bystander effect appears to be consistent, direct proof of such extranuclear/...

Concentrations of the principal organochlorine insecticides were determined in eggs and freshly dead chicks of the Squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), as well as in frogs (Rana sp.), the main heron prey. Material was collected from the wetlands of the Thermaikos Gulf (Macedonia, northern Greece) in 1992 and 1993. Residues o...

The state-of-the-art of atmospheric contaminant transport modeling provides accurate estimation of chemical concentrations. However, existing complex models, sophisticated in terms of process description and potentially highly accurate, may entail expensive setups and require very detailed input data. In contexts where detailed predictions are not needed (e.g., for regulatory risk assessment or...

The World Health Organization (WHO) protocol for determining resistance in body lice, Pediculus humanus humanus (L.), requires holding lice for long periods, which makes successful execution of the test difficult in field settings. The purpose of this study was to modify the WHO test procedure to make the holding period of lice shorter and the handling of lice easier. Susceptible lice from a la...

Extensive distribution of hazardous substances in food chain and the deleterious effect of their residues on public health are a great concern of the society. Chicken eggs, as one of the most popular food commodities, in different parts of Tehran (Iran) were analyzed for two groups of hazardous substances including some organochlorine pesticides (OC) such as aldrin, lindane, dieldrin, dichlorod...

The aim of our study was to evaluate the content of organochlorine pesticides (DDTs and HCHs) in the upper layer of arable soils in Poland. 214 soil samples were analyzed for the content of three HCH congeners (α-HCH, β-HCH, and γ-HCH) and three DDT compounds (pp’DDT, pp’DDE, and pp’DDD). The median soil concentration of Σ3DDT was 24.39 μg·kg, while for Σ3HCH it was 2.85 μg·kg with the highest ...

Air, seawater, sea ice, and snow were collected during the austral winter (September-October 2001) and summer (January-February 2002) along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) > heptachlor > alpha- and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and heptachlor epoxide, were the most frequently detected organochlorine pesticides in air. HCB and HCH levels declined over the past 20 yea...