Measurement of pollution levels of organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides in water, soil, sediment, and shrimp to identify possible impacts on shrimp production at Jiquilisco Bay

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 19; no. 8; pp. 3547 - 3555
• Main Authors: Nomen, Rosa, Sempere, Julià, Chávez, Francisco, de López, Nelly Amaya, Rovira, Ma.Dolores
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.09.2012; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Aquaculture; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bans; Chromatography, Gas - methods; DDD; DDE; DDT; Dieldrin; Dry season; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; El Salvador; Endrin; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Estuaries; Geologic Sediments - analysis; Heptachlor; Hexachlorocyclohexane; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis; Insecticides; Malaria; Marine; Methyl parathion; Nitrous oxide; Organic compounds; Organochlorine compounds; Organochlorine pesticides; Organophosphorus compounds; Organophosphorus Compounds - analysis; Organophosphorus pesticides; Parathion; Penaeidae - chemistry; Pesticide Residues - analysis; Pesticides; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution levels; Ponds; Productivity; Rainy season; Research Article; Seasons; Sediments; Shellfish; Shrimps; Soil (material); Soil - analysis; Studies; Surface water; Sustainable aquaculture; Waste Water Technology; Water - analysis; Water depth; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water sampling; El Salvador; Shrimp culture; Estuarine pollution; Jiquilisco Bay; Pesticides
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-012-0916-y

This study aims to identify levels of several organochlorine and organophosphorus compounds in shrimp-raising areas of coastal El Salvador, to assess potential impacts on shrimp growth and survival that hamper the sustainability of aquaculture in the region. The paper reports the current levels of γ-HCH, 4,4′-DDT, 4,4′-DDE, 4,4′-DDD, endrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, parathion, methyl parathion, and etoprophos in soils (depth 20 cm), sediments (depth 5 cm), shrimp ( Penaeus sp.), and water of three rearing ponds and also in the sediment (depth 5 cm) and water surrounding those ponds in Jiquilisco Bay. Sampling was carried out during the dry (January–March) and rainy (June–August) seasons of 2008. The presence of pesticides in the samples of water, shrimp, and sediment at shrimp ponds was not detected in either season; however, in soil samples (depth 20 cm) taken from these ponds, heptachlor, endrin, dieldrin, 4,4′-DDD, and 4,4′-DDT were identified at concentrations below the method limit of quantification (LOQ), and 4,4′-DDE was found in a concentration falling in the range from 3.85 to 19.61 ng/g. In samples of water taken at the bay water intakes to the rearing ponds, we observed dieldrin concentrations in the range between 0.085 ng/mL and 0.182 ng/mL during the dry season. In the samples of sediments taken in the surrounding areas of shrimp ponds, we found—for both seasons—that in 60 % of the samples, 4,4′-DDE was present in concentrations ranging from 3.75 ng/g to 30.97 ng/g. Additionally, in the rainy season, we observed heptachlor in sediment at concentrations below the method quantification limit. It was concluded that organochlorine compounds from pesticides are still present in Jiquilisco Bay, trapped in deep sediment, even though they have been banned since the 1980s. These were not detected in shrimp tissue, surface water, and shallow sediment in rearing ponds, and hence, we do not believe their presence has any major impact on shrimp production in sampled areas.