Relationships between Socioeconomic Indicators and Concentrations of Organochlorine Pesticides in Tree Bark

This paper suggests that, barring very long-range transport, global environmental concentrations of organochlorine pesticides are proportional to the socioeconomic status of the country (or region) from which the samples were taken. We tested this hypothesis by the following experi ment: Over 200 tree bark samples were collected from 32 countries (or isolated regions of countries) and analyzed for 22 pesticides, including active ingredients and degrada tion products. The Gross National Product per person and the Human Development Index of the various countries were used as socioeconomic indicators. Regression analysis indicated that hexachlorobenzene, trans-nonachlor, and dieldrin concentrations were highly correlated with the GNP per person and the Human Development Index. In general, the poorest counties, such as Togo, Ghana, and Uganda, showed the least amount of pesticide contamination in tree bark, while some industrialized countries, such as those in northern Europe, showed the highest levels of organochlorine pesticides.