Persistent endosulfan sulfate is found with highest abundance among endosulfan I, II, and sulfate in German forest soils

Bernd M. Bussian, Marchela Pandelova, Petra Lehnik-Habrink, Bernhard Aichner, Bernhard Henkelmann, Karl Werner Schramm

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Endosulfan - an agricultural insecticide and banned by Stockholm Convention - is produced as a 2:1 to 7:3 mixture of isomers endosulfan I (ESI) and endosulfan II (ESII). Endosulfan is transformed under aerobic conditions into endosulfan sulfate (ESS). The study shows for 76 sampling locations in German forests that endosulfan is abundant in all samples with an opposite ratio between the ESI and ESII than the technical product, where the main metabolite ESS is found with even higher abundance. The ratio between ESI/ESII and ESS show clear dependence on the type of stands (coniferous vs. deciduous) and humus type and increases from deciduous via mixed to coniferous forest stands. The study argues for a systematic monitoring of ESI, ESII, and ESS and underlines the need for further research, specifically on the fate of endosulfan including biomagnifications and bioaccumulation in soil.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)661-666
Number of pages6
JournalEnvironmental Pollution
Volume206
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Diffuse pollution
  • Endosulfan
  • Forest soils
  • Soil monitoring
  • Stockholm-convention

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