Organochlorines, cholinesterase inhibitors, and aromatic amines in Dutch water samples, September 1969--December 1975.

The Dutch aquatic environment was monitored from September 1969 to December 1975 for organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites, cholinesterase inhibitors, and aromatic amines. The 1,492 samples analyzed included surface water, rainwater, groundwater, and drinking water. The highest concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and alpha- and beta-benzene hexachloride (BHC) were found in the Rhine River and its tributaries. Concentrations of the compounds in the Dutch part of the Rhine River decreased downstream. Other organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin alpha- and beta-endosulfan, and sigmaDDT were detected occasionally, but only in low concentrations. Cholinesterase inhibitors and aromatic amines were always present in the Rhine River and its tributaries.