| Popis: |
Mesopotamia is predominantly an agricultural region and pest control is of great economic significance. Organochlorine pesticides have been used in Iraq and neighboring countries for more than five decades. Organochlorine pesticides enter the Shatt Al-Arab river through drainage from the farmlands of the Tigris and Euphrates basin, either adsorbed onto particulate matters or dissolved. Eventually, most contaminated particles settle to the Shatt Al-Arab sediments and only minor amounts are transported to the Gulf. Reports indicated that the Hor Al-Hammar lake and associated marshes in southern Iraq were sprayed with DDT and aldrin–dieldrin during the period 1950–1976, which have been indicated by the measurable levels of DDT, endrin, and dieldrin, which were encountered in different samples from the Shatt Al-Arab river and Hor Al-Hammar marsh. They transfer in the area either dissolved within a water column or a particular adsorbent, which settle down to the bottom or are transported to the Arabian Gulf. In another study, researchers observed high concentrations of ∑DDT residues, endrin, and dieldrin in the Indian shad (Tenualosa ilisha) muscles collected from the Shatt Al-Arab Estuary. Indian shad is a migratory fish species with a high fat content, which migrates between the northern Gulf waters and Iraq’s marshes and river system for breeding and spawning. |
