Determination of Organochlorine Pesticides in Sembrong Barat Reservoir, Kluang

Abstract

Sembrong Barat Reservoir, Kluang plays a major role in supplying raw water in the district of Kluang, Johor. However, the presence of any pollutants including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) may affect the raw water quality and this may lead to the closing of water treatment plant operation that will ultimately affect the consumer. This study focused on determining the concentration of organochlorine pesticides namely lindane and endosulfan in raw water sample in Sembrong Barat Reservoir, Kluang. Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) combined with Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD) was applied in the determination of selected organochlorine pesticides in the water sample. Water sample was extracted twice with dichloromethane and once with n-hexane. The final volume was made up to 1 mL and 1 μL sample was then injected into GC-ECD for analysis. The percent recovery (%) for lindane is 91.8 while for endosulfan is 94.7. The LOD and LOQ was calculated with the value obtained ranging from 0.002 ppm to 0.02 ppm. The real sample was analysed using the proposed method and concentration obtained for lindane and endosulfan are 0.0044 μg/mL and 0.0014 μg/mL respectively.