Review of emerging contaminants in aquatic biota from Latin America: 2002-2016

LLORCA, M; FARRÉ, M.; ELJARRAT E.; DÍAZ CRUZ, S.; RODRIGUEZ-MOZAZ, S; WUNDERLIN, D.A.; BARCELÓ D

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY

SETAC PRESS

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2017 vol. 36 p. 1716 - 1727

0730-7268

This bibliographic work reviews the availableliterature based on organic emerging contaminants in biota from Latin America between2002 and 2016 including 23 works from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,Mexico and Nicaragua. Although it is known that emerging contaminants arewidespread all over the globe, there is a gap of information about theirdistribution in some geographical areas, such as Latin America, and a globalsummary is needed. In particular, the manuscript overviews the presence ofpseudo-persistent contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care productsand pyrethroid insecticides and the new groups of persistent organic pollutants(POPs), halogenated flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances. It isnoteworthy to mention that these new groups of contaminants are of highecological relevance because of their potential for bioaccumulation andbiomagnification and how the introduction of these contaminants into the foodweb can pose a human health risk as a last stage. The occurrenceof flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances in freshwater and marinebiota from different types of ecosystems of Latin America is summarized, denotingtheir high bioaccumulation capacity through the food web and their long-rangeenvironmental transport (LRET). With respect to the pseudo-persistentcontaminants, a wide overview is provided, including not only occurrence data butalso their effects and potential transfer through the food chain.