Persistent Chemicals in Birds and Herbs in Korea

ABSTRACT

Measurements were made of the residual level of chlorinated hydrocarbon compound and mercury compound in the tissues of wild birds and herbs in Korea from November 1974 to August 1975. Aldrin was detected in all of the wild birds analyzed. The residue levels of aldrin varied from 0.353ppm to 16.115ppm. Among the tissues analyzed, the feathers contained the highest concentration of aldrin, but chloridane could not be detected in wild birds. The pesticides detected in wild birds were (alpha+beta)-BHC gamma-BHC, delta-BHC, heptachlor, aldrin, TDE and DDT. Dieldrin was detected only in the stomach of eastern dunlin caught at the Nakdong River basin. Residue levels of mercury were measured in all wild birds analyzed. Among tissues analyzed for mercury compound concentration, here also the feathers showed the highest level. The feathers of the eastern dunlin showed a high content of mercury compound which was 76.665 ppm at the highest level. Herbs used as material for oriental remedies were contaminated by chlorinated hydrocarbons which were (alpha+beta)-BHC, gamma-BHC, dieldrin, DDT, heptachlor, TDE, aldrin and epoxide. The insect materials from Cicadae testa, Bombycis corpus, and Scolopendia were much more contaminated by pesticides than plant materials. Herbs cultivated in arable areas were also found to be more contaminated by pesticides than wild ones. Herbs, on the whole, contained lower levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons than wild birds. The incidence of pesticide residues in natural products and in wild birds, however, should be considered as a global environmental pollution problem. The present investigation could contribute as a baseline study for the monitoring of pesticide pollution, its application and dispersal, and the hazard limit for food and human health.