Endosulfan (6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,3,4-benzo(e)dioxathiepin-3-oxide) is a broad-spectrum chlorinated cyclodiene insecticide. This study was performed to elucidate the stereoselective metabolism of endosulfan in human liver microsomes and to characterize the cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes that are involved in the metabolism of endosulfan. Human liver micro...

Management of cocoa plantation field relied on the use of pesticides over the years; hence, the fate of such chemicals is one of the most debated issues among the stakeholders. Young and old cocoa plantation fields from 4 major cocoa producing States in Nigeria were selected as the study area. Eight composites soil samples collected from 3 portions of 6 transect measured area (100 x 50m) of the...

Solutions of alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, and technical grade endosulfan (70alpha:30beta) were added to modular estuarine mesocosms; the kinetics and degradation products from each mesocosm are reported. The persistent product endosulfan sulfate was generated in all cases; however, its yield was approximately a factor of three higher from alpha-endosulfan relative to beta-endosulfan. Beta...

The gram-positive bacterium Mycobacterium sp. strain ESD is able to use the cyclodiene insecticide endosulfan as a source of sulfur for growth. This activity is dependent on the absence of sulfite or sulfate in the growth medium. A cosmid library of strain ESD DNA was constructed in a Mycobacterium-Escherichia coli shuttle vector and screened for endosulfan-degrading activity in Mycobacterium s...

This paper documents levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCs) in coastal surface sediments from selected reference sites on the northern Atlantic Spanish coast. One hundred eight samples covering three estuaries in the Cantabrian Coast were sampled in 2006 and analyzed in the finer fraction (<63 μm) for 19 OCs by gas chromatography with electron capture detector after confirmation by mass spec...

Selected organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) were analyzed in surficial fjord sediments collected down the length of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard in the Norwegian high Arctic. Hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCHs) was found to be the most abundant OC in the sediment, followed by BDE-209>chlordane>α-endosulfan>Dechlorane Plus (anti-DP)>trifluralin concentration ranges were...

Keoladeo National Park (KNP) is an important wintering ground for thousands of birds that undertake a perilous journey over the Himalaya to make a seasonal home in a wetland ecosystem. However, this wetland is now getting polluted by various types of contaminants such as pesticides because of the agricultural practices in the catchment area from where the park receives water. Keeping this in mi...

The current investigation is taken up with the aim of studying repeated batch and continuous degradation of Endosulfan, using Ca-alginate immobilized cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from an agricultural soil. The work involves the study of genes and enzymes involved in the degradation of the pesticide and was carried out with an objective of reducing the toxicity of Endosulfan by degra...

Although the use of endosulfan to control cotton pests has declined, this insecticide still has widespread application in agriculture and can contaminate riverine systems as runoff from soil or by aerial deposition. The degradation of endosulfan in pure water at different pH values of 5, 7 and 9 and in river water from the Namoi and the Hawkesbury rivers of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, was...