Pesticides in rainfall in Europe

Papers and published reports investigating the presence of pesticides in ra infall in Europe were reviewed. Approximately half of the compounds that we re analysed for were detected. For those detected, most concentrations were below about 100 ng/l, but larger concentrations, up to a few thousand nano grams per litre, were detected occasionally at most monitoring sites. The m ost frequently detected compounds were lindane (gamma-HCH) and its isomer ( alpha-HCH), which were detected on 90-100% of sampling occasions at most of the sites where they were monitored. For compounds developed more recently , detection was usually limited to the spraying season. A classification of pesticides according to their deposition pattern is proposed. (C) 2000 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.