Assessment of Pesticide Residue Content among Vegetables Sold at Chongwe Market, Lusaka Province, Zambia

This study investigated the concentration of dichlorvos and monochrotophos in rape, Chinese vegetable and tomatoes sold at Chongwe market in Lusaka province of Zambia. Ten samples for each type of vegetable were randomly sampled and collected from the market. Each sample was put in its own new polyethene carrier bag. They were taken to the laboratory for sample preparation and chemical analysis. The concentration of dichlorvos in rape (2.4mg/Kg) was alarmingly higher than the maximum residue limit by WHO standards (0.5mg/Kg), while in Chinese vegetable the concentration was only higher by 0.4mg/Kg. In tomatoes, dichlorvos was not detectable. Monochrotophos concentration in rape (0.38mg/Kg), Chinese (0.19mg/Kg) and tomatoes (0.78mg/Kg). It was above the threshold in all the samples. All in all, five out of six samples had both dichlorvos and monochrotophos concentrations higher than the MRL. This could mean that human health is at risk.