Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Chlordecone (CLD) was an organochlorine insecticide whose previous use resulted in an extensive pollution of the environment with severe health effects and social consequences. A closely related compound, 5b-hydrochlordecone (5b-hydroCLD), has been searched for and often detected in environmental matrices from the geographical area where CLD was applied. The current consensus considered that its presence was not the result of a biotic or abiotic dechlorination of CLD in these matrices but rather the consequence of its presence as impurity (synthesis by-product) in the CLD released into the environment. The aim of the present study was to determine if and to what extent degradation of CLD into 5b-hydroCLD occurred in the field. To test this hypothesis, the ratios of 5b-hydroCLD and CLD concentrations in a dataset of 810 soils collected between 2006 and 2012 in Martinique were compared to the ratios measured in 3 samples of the CLD dust commercial formulations applied in the banana fields of French West Indies (FWI) and 1 sample of the technical-grade CLD corresponding to the active ingredient used in such formulations. Soil data were processed with a hierarchical Bayesian model to account for random measurement errors and data censoring. Any pathway of CLD transformation into 5b-hydroCLD occurring over the long term in FWI soils would indeed change the ratio of 5b-hydroCLD/CLD compared to what it was in the initially applied formulations. Results showed a significant increase of the 5b-hydroCLD/CLD ratio in the soils-25 times greater in soil than in commercial formulations-which suggested that natural CLD transformation into 5b-hydroCLD over the long term occurred in these soils. Results from this study may impact future decisions for the remediation of the polluted areas.
ISSN: 0944-1344

hal-01347150
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01347150
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01347150/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01347150/file/Devault_15973.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s11356-015-4865-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have linked prenatal traffic-related air pollution exposure to fetal growth. Recently, several studies have suggested exploring this association independently among boys and girls because of potential sex-specific biological vulnerability to air pollution. Residence-based factors can also influence fetal growth by enhancing susceptibility to the toxic effects of air pollution and must also be considered in these relations. OBJECTIVE: We examined sex-specific associations between prenatal air pollution exposure and fetal growth and explored whether they differed by the urban-rural status of maternal residence. METHODS: This study relied on the PELAGIE mother-child cohort (2521 women, Brittany, France, 2002-2006). Fetal growth was assessed through birth weight, head circumference and small weight (SGA) and small head circumference (SHC) for gestational age. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations at mothers' homes were estimated by using a land use regression model taking into account temporal variation during pregnancy. Associations between estimated NO2 concentrations and fetal growth were assessed with linear regression or logistic regression models, depending on the outcome investigated. RESULTS: An interquartile range (8.8µgm(-3)) increase in NO2 exposure estimates was associated with a 27.4g (95% CI 0.8 to 55.6) increase in birth weight and a 0.09cm (95% CI 0.00-0.17) significant increase in head circumference, among newborn boys only. Their risks of SGA and SHC were reduced (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53-0.92, OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.56-1.03, respectively, for an increase of 8.8µgm(-3)). No statistically significant trends were observed among girls. Urban-rural status modified the effect of air pollution only for SHC and again only for newborn boys. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study confirm the need to consider sex-specific associations between air pollution and fetal growth and to investigate possible mechanisms by which traffic-related air pollution may increase anthropometric parameters at birth
Environmental Research

hal-01205354
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01205354
DOI : 10.1016/j.envres.2015.09.006
PUBMED : 26378737

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that reproductive abnormalities are increasing in frequency in both human population and among wild fauna. This increase is probably related to exposure to toxic contaminants in the environment. The use of sentinel species to raise alarms relating to human reproductive health has been strongly recommended. However, no simultaneous studies at the same site have been carried out in recent decades to evaluate the utility of wild animals for monitoring human reproductive disorders. We carried out a joint study in Guadeloupe assessing the reproductive function of workers exposed to pesticides in banana plantations and of male wild rats living in these plantations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess semen quality and reproductive hormones in banana workers and in men working in non-agricultural sectors. These reproductive parameters were also assessed in wild rats captured in the plantations and were compared with those in rats from areas not directly polluted by humans. RESULTS: No significant difference in sperm characteristics and/or hormones was found between workers exposed and not exposed to pesticide. By contrast, rats captured in the banana plantations had lower testosterone levels and gonadosomatic indices than control rats. CONCLUSION: Wild rats seem to be more sensitive than humans to the effects of pesticide exposure on reproductive health. We conclude that the concept of sentinel species must be carefully validated as the actual nature of exposure may varies between human and wild species as well as the vulnerable time period of exposure and various ecological factors.
Environmental health : a global access science source [electronic resource]

hal-00669505
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00669505
DOI : 10.1186/1476-069X-7-40
PUBMED : 18667078