Pesticides in rain

40 rainwater samples were collected in Hannover and near Peine (Lower Saxony, Germany) in 1992 using a wet-only collector. The samples were extracted by solid phase extraction and analyzed by GC/MS for 59 pesticides. 11 pesticides were found in more than 10 samples. The highest concentrations were observed for terbuthylazine (0.003 - 0.52 mu g/L), metolachlor (0.003 - 0.51 mu g/l, mean: 0.10 mu g/l), metalaxyl (0.006 - 0.48 mu g/L, mean: 0.10 mu g/L) and chlorothalonil (0.003 - 1.1 mu g/L, mean: 0.16 mu g/L). The concentrations show a seasonal dependence reflecting the application periods. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.