Determination of levels of HCH and DDT in soil, water and whole blood from bioenvironmental and insecticide-sprayed areas of malaria control.

Concentrations of HCH and DDT in soil, water and whole blood were determined in two areas under malaria control. These were, (i) bioenvironmental control of malaria at BHEL, and (ii) residual spraying of insecticides in rural and urban area of Bahadrabad PHC of Hardwar district. Mean concentrations of HCH in soil and whole blood samples from BHEL was 2.26 micrograms/kg and 1.20 micrograms/l and from Bahadrabad 61.12 micrograms/kg and 24.3 micrograms/l respectively. Similarly, the mean concentration of DDT in soil and whole blood from BHEL was 3.68 micrograms/kg and 4.71 micrograms/l, while in Bahadrabad 270.51 micrograms/kg and 38.13 micrograms/l respectively. HCH and DDT were never detected in any water samples from BHEL area, while the mean concentration of these compounds in water of Bahadrabad area was 0.18 and 0.07 microgram/l respectively. Residual level of HCH and DDT were 27 and 73.5 times higher in soil and 20.2 and 8.1 times higher in whole blood samples from Bahadrabad as compared to their corresponding values from BHEL respectively.