Residues of organochlorine pesticides (OC) in fish
(cat fish, tilapia, Liza ramada, and Anguilla anguilla)
from Lake Manzala were analysed by gas
chromatography. Residues of 5 OC pesticides (α -HCH
(hexachlorocyclohexane); 0.016 g kg-1, β HCH; 0.34 g kg-
1, , γ -HCH; 0.24 g kg-1, aldrin; 0.31 g kg-1, and dieldrin;
0.37 g kg-1) were found in Sediment samples, while 7 OC
(Total DDT, dieldrin, α-HCH, β- HCH, β -HCH, aldrin and
endrin) were observed in fish samples. One of them, β -
HCH was found in all fish species' muscle tissues. The
OC concentrations determined in fish samples are lower
than the other reported results. The average results were
0.51 g kg-1 for cat fish;1.25g kg-1 for tilapia;1.7 g kg-1 for
L. ramada; 6 g kg-1 for A. anguilla. DDE/DDT ratio,
which may be assumed as an indicator of the age of the
contamination, is around or below the lower limit of the
range characteristic for European countries. The results
for hematology parameters of fish samples showed
decrease in hemoglobin (Hb) % (g 100 ml.1), monocytes,
hematocrit (PCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin
content (MCHC), Also the results showed that
lymphocytes (%) decreased slightly with fish contain high
Biochem. Lett., Vol.4, PP 51-68 (2009)
values of pesticide, while neutrophils (%) increased.This
study shows that, the exposure to PCBs seems to continue
in Egypt in spite of the fact that it was carried out on the
limited number of subjects.The result of this study show
that the Lake Manzala is contaminated with low levels of
organochlorine pesticides. However, the levels of these
chemicals in the fish species are expected to decline with
time.