Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
1006753679
Link(s) to full text
LAC copy
LAC copy
Author
Nirwal, Amardeep Singh,1974-
Title
Environmental behaviour and fate of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, DDT, residues in a terrestrial arctic ecosystem.
Degree
M. Sc. -- Queen's University at Kingston, 2001
Publisher
Ottawa : National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, [2002]
Description
2 microfiches
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
The environmental behaviour and fate of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and its related compounds DDE and DDD were examined in a terrestrial arctic ecosystem. Samples of soil, sediment, willow ('Salix' sp.), grass ('Elymus' sp.), and arctic ground squirrel (' Spermophilus parryi') were collected at an abandoned Long Range Aid to Navigation (LORAN) station located at Kittigazuit, Northwest Territories (69°16'55.71"N, 133°54'31.80"W). Since the study site received applications of DDT pesticide between 1948 to 1950, it provided a unique opportunity to examine the legacy of localized DDT use in a terrestrial arctic environment. Despite the passage of time, soil concentrations have remained high (maximum [Sigma]DDT 210000 ng·g-1), and the composition of [Sigma]DDT compounds in soil still resembles the original pesticide formulation (59% ' p,p''-DDT). In soils, appreciable loss and degradation of DDT was less pronounced than compared to temperate and tropical environments. Contaminant concentrations in willows and grasses demonstrated the availability of soil contaminants. The concentration and composition of [Sigma]DDT in arctic ground squirrels livers were clearly the result of contamination at the study site. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
ISBN
0612633470
9780612633476