Assessment of the levels of DDT and DDE in soil and blood samples from Tabasco, Mexico

Abstract

In Mexico, 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) was used until the year 2000, principally in agriculture and anti-paludal program health campaigns. The southeastern region of Mexico was an important area of malaria, and from 1957 DDT was applied indoors every 6 months, with a coverage of 2 g/m(2). The current study was performed in Tabasco, a Mexican state located in the southeastern region of Mexico. DDT and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDE) were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In general, low levels were found in household outdoor samples; the levels of DDT ranged from not detectable to 0.048 mg/kg, and of DDE from 0.001 to 0.068 mg/kg. An important finding was that, in all communities where DDT in blood was analyzed, exposure to DDT was found, indicating both past and present exposure. Although the levels found in this study were lower than other studies in Mexico, there is a need to evaluate whether the people living in the study area are at risk.

Levels of Organochlorine Pesticides in Blood Plasma from Residents of Malaria-Endemic Communities in Chiapas, Mexico

“…We found p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE in 15% and 96.7% of individuals sampled, respectively; while β-endosulfan was detected in 38.3% of them ( Table 3 ). This is consistent with reports from other studies in southeastern Mexico, where 90%–100% of the surveyed population had detectable levels of p,p'-DDE [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Our results confirm the presence of DDT and DDE in blood of the population studied after almost 15 years of DDT use being forbidden in Mexico [ 3 ].…”

“…Contamination by OC pesticides is an ongoing problem since these chemicals are persistent and some are still detected after many years of restriction or prohibition of use [ 14 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. We found p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE in 15% and 96.7% of individuals sampled, respectively; while β-endosulfan was detected in 38.3% of them ( Table 3 ).…”

DNA Damage in Vicia faba by Exposure to Agricultural Soils from Tlaxcala, Mexico

“…In Mexico, DDT was used until the year 2000; however, still is found in soils (Cantu-Soto et al 2011;González-Millle et al 2013); sediments Juárez-Santacruz et al 2013), animal tissues , and in human beings (Torres-Dosal et al 2012). The values of p,p 0 DDT oscillated from 1.1 to 24 lg/kg while p,p 0 DDE only was detected in the soils T3 (12.5 lg/kg) and N4 (0.30 lg/kg).…”

Fitorremediación: Alternativa biotecnológica para recuperar suelos contaminados con DDT. Una revisión

“…Estudios dirigidos por la Organización Panamericana de Salud demuestran que, en las comunidades de Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panamá y México, el rociado de DDT en el interior de los hogares provoca acumulación del compuesto en el suelo interior y exterior de las casas (Pérez-Maldonado et al, 2010). En México, en los estados de Oaxaca (Yáñez, Ortiz-Pérez, Batres, Borja-Aburto & Díaz-Barriga, 2002), Chiapas (Martínez-Salinas, Díaz-Barriga, Batres-Esquivel & Pérez-Maldonado, 2011), Chihuahua (Díaz-Barriga et al, 2012), Sinaloa (García-de la Parra et al, 2012), Tabasco (Torres-Dosal et al, 2012), San Luis Potosí (Velasco et al, 2014) y Yucatán (Giácoman-Vallejos et al, 2018) el DDT se ha encontrado en concentraciones que exceden los límites permisibles en suelos, sedimentos, mantos acuíferos, organismos marinos e incluso mujeres y niños de diversas edades (hasta 26,980 µg/kg de DDT en suelo agrícola y 58,270 µg de DDT/L de suero humano). Además, existen indicadores del uso ilegal del DDT como agroquímico en África, China y México (Gyalpo et al, 2012;Mochungong & Zhu, 2015;Mahugija, Nambela & Mmochi, 2017;Ponce-Vélez & Botello, 2018;Giácoman-Vallejos et al, 2018;Peng et al, 2020;Sun et al, 2020); en Europa el DDT, DDE y DDD, son de los insecticidas de mayor presencia en los suelos agrícolas (Silva et al, 2019), a pesar de haberse dejado de utilizar desde hace varias décadas.…”