Monitoring Organochlorine Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Baiyangdian Lake Using Microbial Communities

ABSTRACT

We used polyurethane foam units (PFUs) to collect persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from four sites in Baiyangdian Lake in July 2003. Following extraction from the PFUs, relative concentrations of seven organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and ten polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined by gas chromatography. OCPs and PCBs were detected in the microbial communities from all the four sampling stations. In terms of the total concentration of POPs (OCPs+ PCBs), two river estuary stations had more POP (18.45μg/L and 9.77μg/L) than the two mid-lake stations (4.75μg/L and 5.21μg/L), indicating that Baiyangdian Lake was significantly impacted by inflow from the Fu River and Baigou River.