Organochlorine residues in aquatic environments in Iran, 1974.

Organochlorine pesticide residues in various organisms from different aquatic ecosystems in Iran were investigated in spring 1974. DDT levels were high in fish taken from two rivers in southern Iran, whereas low levels were detected in samples obtained from a freshwater lake in the same area. Fish from two of the reservoirs supplying Tehran with potable water contained moderate levels of DDT. The low residue level in pike collected in the Bandar-Pahlavi Mordab in northwest Iran indicates that only a small amount of organochlorine pesticides used in this area enters the pelagic food chain. Sturgeon collected at different places in the Caspian Sea showed similar accumulations of DDT in the muscles and in the eggs. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected only in samples of sediment from the drainage systems in Tehran.