Spatial Distribution and Ecological Risk Assessment of Residual Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) in South American Marine Environments

GIRONES, LAUTARO; OLIVA, ANA L.; MARCOVECCHIO, JORGE E.; ARIAS, ANDRÉS H.

Current Environmental Health Reports

SPRINGER

Lugar: Heidelberg; Año: 2020 vol. 7 p. 147 - 160

The OCP levels were higher in semi-enclosed environments such as bays and estuaries, close to large cities. In terms ofindividual OCPs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its degradation products were more abundant than other OCPs inall the environmental compartments, excepting air, for which the most abundant OCP was endosulfan. Depending on the locationand the environmental matrix, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), heptachlors, mirex, and endosulfans followed DDTs. Aldrin,dieldrin and endrin, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and chlordanes were found at very low levels in most matrices and sites, withsome exceptions. Considering their potential ecotoxicological risk,most sites would be safe for biota; however, the levels of someOCPs could damage the structure and function of the communities of several coastal sites in a short or long term, mainly insoutheastern Brazil and on the coast of the Argentine Pampas. Moreover, it remains to evaluate many sites potentially contaminatedby OCPs.