Large-scale spatiotemporal variations, sources, and risk assessment of banned OCPs and PAHs in suspended particulate matter from the Negro river, Argentina.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) threaten the environment due to their wide environmental resistance. Environmental paradigms coexist along the Negro River (NR) in Argentina, South America, which flows to the sea below the latitude of 40 S; however, this is the first environmental assessment of OCPs and PAHs in water of the NR for more than 15 years. With 21 sampling sites covering a range of 600 km of river extension, we assessed 16 OCPs and 16 PAHs in suspended particulate material (SPM) with regard to their levels, seasonality, sources, and potential biological risk assessment.