Occurrence of Organophosphorus and Carbamate Pesticide Residues in Surface Water Samples from the Rangpur District of Bangladesh

We report the presence of organophosphorus and carbamate residues in 24 surface water samples and five ground water samples from Pirgacha Thana, Rangpur district, Bangladesh using high-performance liquid chromatography. A number of samples of surface water from paddy fields were found to contain chlorpyriphos, carbofuran and carbaryl at concentrations ranging from 0-1.189, 0-3.395 and 0-0.163 mu g/L, respectively. Surface water from the lakes had chlorpyriphos, carbofuran and carbaryl at concentrations ranging from 0.544-0.895, 0.949-1.671 and 0-0.195 mu g/L, respectively. This result indicates that the general public living in the area of Rangpur is at high risk of pesticide exposure from contaminated waters in the environment.