Estado actual de la contaminación

MENONE, ML

Reserva de Biosfera Mar Chiquita: Características Físicas, Biológicas y Ecológicas

Martin

Año: 2001; p. 53 - 64

This is a revision of articles about persistent organic products (POPs) of two classes: organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated byphenils (PCBs) and also total mercury and lead in the biota and sediments of Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon. Mar Chiquita act as an endpoint of a watershed of more than 10.000 Km2. Pesticide residues (0 CPs) were higher than PCBs in one or two orders of magnitude as a result of the agricultural activities. Heptachloro epoxide, DDT and its metabolites and g- HCH were the predominant OCPs in sediments and crabs. PCBs and OCPs were detected at ng/g concentrations (wet weight) in pooled samples of silverside. DDT and its metabolites, g- HCH and several insecticides from the cyclodiene class, including endosulfan sulphate, were the predominant OCPs in fish tissues and the contents of the digestive tract. PCBs were dominated by penta- hexachlorodephenyls, wich is consistent with direct input. Total OCPs and PCBs concentrations in ovaries and muscle were below concentrations associated with reproductive impairment in fish or the legal limits for human consumption, respectively. Burrowing crabs, sediment collected from inside and outside the crab bed, and cordgrass were collected from intertidal mudflat and cordgrass marsh habitats and analyzed for concentrations of organochlorines. These data indicated that the cordgrass in coastal lagoon environments is an important factor in determining the distribution of persistent contaminants. Data from 1986 determined in 18 organisms from Mar Chiquita, when lead were an additive in gasoline, exceed legal limits in the  case of lead. On the contrary total mercury were below legal limits in all cases.