Indoor persistent organic pollutants in agricultural areas from Argentina

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are anthropogenic chemicals extensively used in the past for industrial and agricultural purposes, characterized by their lipophilicity, ubiquity, volatility and environmental persistence. By other hand, chlorpyrifos is the most widely used current pesticide (CUPs) being the main insecticide used for crops in Argentina. The aim of this work was to assess levels of POPs and CUPs in different fractions of airborne particles collected indoor in agricultural areas from Argentina. Particles higher than 2.5 µm were trapped in polyurethane foams (PUF) while particles smaller than 1 µm and volatile compounds were adsorbed on activated charcoal. Compounds were analyzed by gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Endosulfans, chlordanes, PCBs, and HCHs were detected in all PUF samples, while endosulfans, chlorpyrifos, PCBs, and HCHs were the most abundant in smaller particles. Majority of pesticides showed higher concentrations during the summer season (1397.7 vs 832.5 pg/m³ ). Even adding up all measured organic compounds, no sample reaches the threshold limit value for indoor pesticides levels (0.1 pg/m³ ), neither in the large or small particle fraction. However, the fact that chronic exposure to POPs has been linked to several diseases raises concern for human health.