INSECTICIDE CONTAMINATION OF JAMAICAN ENVIRONMENT.V.
ISLAND-WIDE RAPID SURVEY OF RESIDUES IN SURFACE AND
GROUND WATER
J. V. WITTER
1
,D.E.ROBINSON
2
, A. MANSINGH
2∗
and K. M. DALIP
2
1
Centre for Nuclear Sciences and
2
Pesticide and Pest Research Group, P.O. Box 12, University of
the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
(
∗
author for correspondence, e-mail: lmansing@vwimona.edu.jm)
(Received 3 December 1996; accepted 4 November 1997)
Abstract. Residues of organochlorines and organophosphates were determined by gas chromatogra-
phy in water and sediment from 26 locations in 17 major rivers, 7 natural springs and 13 wells across
Jamaica. Samples were collected on only one occasion between May and July, 1994. Residues of
endosulfan were detected in all but three rivers; α-endosulfan in 15 samples of sediment (0.9–108.1,
mean = 28.93, S.E. = 7.198 µgkg
−1
) and 13 of water (0.01–0.35, mean = 0.11, S.E. = 0.035 µg
L
−1
), β-endosulfan in 5 sediment (15.29–49.35, mean = 30.56, S.E. = 7.132 µgkg
−1
) and 12 water
(0.05–0.31, mean = 0.14, S.E. = 0.031 µgL
−1
) samples, and endosulfan sulphate in waters of three
rivers (0.003–0.244 µgL
−1
). Chlorpyrifos was present in 9 sediment (0.423-135.2, mean = 18.38,
S.E. = 10.699 µgkg
−1
) and two water (0.001–0.022 µgL
−1
) samples, diazinon and ethoprophos in
the sediment of one river each. Mean levels (µgL
−1
)ofα and β isomers and sulphate of endosulfan
were 0.16 (S.E. = 0.057), 0.12 (S.E. = 0.036) and 0.15 (S.E. = 0.089), respectively, in four of the
seven springs and 0.23 (S.E. = 0.052), 0.11 (S.E. = 0.029) and 0.26 (S.E. = 0.088), respectively, in
seven of the thirteen wells monitored.
Keywords: chlorpyrifos, diazinon, endosulfan, ethoprophos, insecticide, residues
1. Introduction
Although coffee is cultivated almost all over the coastal plains and central high-
lands of Jamaica, the Blue Mountain ranges in the east (Figure 1) produce the
world’s most expensive ‘Blue Mountain’ coffee. Since the berry borer, Hypothene-
mus hampei Ferrari (Scolytidae: Coleoptera), entered Jamaica in 1978, endosulfan
has been used all across the island against the pest without any environmental con-
sideration (Mansingh, 1993a). It is, therefore, not surprising to find that its residues
are the most commonly detected contaminants present in the rivers of the Rio
Cobre basin (Henry, 1985; Lawrence, 1985; Mansingh, 1987; 1993b), Hope River
watershed (Mansingh et al., 1995), Black River basin (Martin et al., 1995) and
Portland watershed (Robinson and Mansingh, 1997). Besides endosulfan, residues
of DDT, aldrin, endrin and di-eldrin, which were used in the Rio Cobre basin a few
decades ago, are still present in coastal water and sediment of Kingston Harbour
(Mansingh and Wilson, 1995).
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 56: 257–267, 1999.
© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.