Report on Pesticide Residue Sampling for the Ord River Irrigation Area 1964-1978 (Gorman 1979)
This report was prepared for the Ord River Ecology Sub-Committee, and consists of a collection of results of several ad hoc monitoring exercises conducted by several departments, notably the WA Departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Wildlife, and Public Works.
It covers the analysis of water, silt (sediments), soils, foods, pastures, stockfeeds, cattle, birdlife and fish for organochlorine and organophosphorus residues arising out of their widespread use for cotton production. Cotton production stopped in 1974 when insect pest resistance to the insecticides used became insurmountable. With the demise of cotton, the use of organochlorines fell dramatically. Their use in the Ord River Irrigation Area was so high, however, that residues in the environment continued long past 1974, are still detectable today, albeit at much reduced levels.
P43/44 Monitoring Pesticides – A Review – A Report to the Environmental Protection Authority by Peter A Rutherford. Environment Protection Authority. Perth Western Australia. Bulletin 407. December 1989.