Residues of Organochlorine Pesticides in Soils from the Southern Sonora, Mexico

Although, the Yaqui and Mayo valleys are the most important agricultural areas in Sonora, there is only limited data of the pesticides residue in soils in these valleys. This study measured the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in 234 soil samples (residential and agricultural) from 24 communities. The global results (mean, range) indicated that benzene hexachloride (19.2, ND-938.5 mu g g(-1)), endrin (6.6, ND-377.3 mu g g(-1)) and DDTs (36.45, ND-679.7 mu g g(-1)) were the dominant contaminants. Soil is one of the most important routes of exposure to OCPs in the population of southern Sonora and this study can be used to establish background levels of OCPs.