Abstract

In the outer Alborz Range in the Northern Province of Iran, the Haraz, Talar and Babolrood Rivers are the three largest rivers where most of the agricultural, aquacultural and industrial activities are found. Total indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (iPCBs) ranged ND–474, ND–273 and ND–559 ng/L in Haraz, Talar and Babolrood Rivers, respectively. Significantly lower (p < 0.05) concentrations of DDT, lindane and dieldrin were observed in the upstream stations than downstream stations of both Babolrood and Haraz Rivers. However, in Talar River, PCB residues in upstream was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than downstream. Furthermore, PCB-28 in Talar River and PCB-101 and PCB-153 in Bablrood and Haraz Rivers were high in water samples at all stations. A significant difference was observed among the stations. In October, November and December, there was negligible variations in total PCB concentration among the stations. Alarming levels of some of the legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may pose adverse effects on the aquatic species dwelling in the Talar, Babolrood and Haraz Rivers of Iran.

Highlights

  • Widespread use of chemicals and industrial development during the twentieth century are the major sources for many chemical pollutants to enter the environment [1]

  • This study was conducted along the Haraz, Talar and Babolrood Rivers in north of Iran (Figure 1)

  • To determine the sampling points along the river, we considered discharge points of industrial wastes, fish farming, agricultural runoff and other sources of pollutants into the river

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Summary

Introduction

Widespread use of chemicals and industrial development during the twentieth century are the major sources for many chemical pollutants to enter the environment [1]. The elevated usages were primarily associated with their lower cost, high availability and remarkable brisk effect on various pests [7,8,9,10,11,12]. Owing to their adverse detrimental effect on environment and humans, ecological exposure to POPs has become an eminent concern around the globe [7,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]

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