Distribution and risk assessment of banned and other current-use pesticides in surface and groundwaters consumed in an agricultural catchment dominated by cocoa crops in the Ankobra Basin, Ghana.

The existence of pesticides, such as organochlorine pesticides, parathion-ethyl, methamidophos which is banned globally and some current-use non-banned pesticides of organophosphorus and synthetic pyrethroids in freshwater sources is an ecological and public health concern in many countries, including Ghana. Prompted by this concern, the exposure levels and risk assessment of these pesticides to humans and non-target organisms via groundwater and surface water sources in an agricultural catchment dominated by cocoa crops in the Ankobra Basin, Ghana, were investigated. The individual concentrations of the banned pesticides in the surface water and groundwater samples varied from < LOD to 0.110 μg/L and < LOD to 0.055 μg/L, respectively, while the concentrations of the non-banned pesticides ranged from < LOD to 0.925 μg/L and < LOD to 2 μg/L, respectively. The mean concentrations of chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, p,p'-DDT and pirimiphos-methyl in some water sources exceeded the EU limit of 0.1 μg/L. Some surface water sources were more contaminated with DDTs, endrin, dieldrin, methoxychlor, chlorpyrifos, and HCH isomers than were freshwater sources in river basins in some countries of the world. Chlorpyrifos, p,p'-DDT and methoxychlor were ubiquitous in both water sources. The hydrochemical and compositional profiles of the pesticides indicate that water-exchange and secondary porosities in the bedrock likely contributed to the occurrence of the pesticides in the water sources. The pesticides were of low risk to humans that consume the water, but considering the US EPA safe limit for carcinogenic effects of 10-6, the high levels of DDTs, β-HCH, and dieldrin in some of the surface water and groundwater sources may cause cancer in children or infants. The toxicity of pesticide mixtures to surface water non-target organisms decreased in the order of fish > Daphnia magna > algae. The pesticides in the water sources were anthropogenic in origin and recently used. DDT and HCH in the water were of technical-grade origin.