Author(s)

Miguel Angel Ramírez-Elías^1*, Atl Victor Córdova-Quiroz¹, Julia Griselda Cerón-Bretón¹, Rosa María Cerón-Bretón¹, Jaime Rendón-von Osten², Javier Hipólito Cortés-Simón³

¹Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Ciudad del Carmen, México.
²Centro de Ecología, Pesquerías y Oceanografía del Golfo de México (EPOMEX), Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Campeche, México.
³Secretaria de Marina, V Zona Naval, Estación de Investigación Oceanográfica, Cd del Carmen, Campeche, México.

DDT and Endosulfan are persistent organic compounds which have been prohibited and their use has been limited in agricultural activities due to their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation potential. The use of DDT in fumigation campaigns against endemic diseases transmitted by vectors of malaria and dengue was prohibited in Carmen Island, Campeche, Mexico since 1995. In the surroundings of Sabancuy Lagoon, many and diverse agricultural activities are carried out and it is a common practice to use organ-chlorine pesticides as endosulfan. In order to know the levels of these compounds in this area, a sediment sampling campaign was carried out in ten sampling points randomly located within the Sabancuy Lagoon, Campeche and considering one reference sampling point located 2 km away from Sabancuy Lagoon within the Mexican Gulf. Three metabolites were identified in sediments samples belonging to DDT’s family: (4,4’-DDD; 4,4’-DDE; 4,4’- DDT) and Endosulfan’s family (Endosulfan I, Endosulfan II y Endosulfan sulfate). Higher concentrations in DDT’s family were found for 4,4’-DDD, followed by 4,4’-DDE and 4,4’-DDT. Endosulfan’s family, showed the following order for concentrations: Endosulfan II > Endosulfan I > Endosulfan sulfate. Mean concentration for S-DDT and S-Endosulfan in Sabancuy Lagoon sediments was twice higher than those found in other studies carried out in Términos Lagoon, Campeche, Mexico in 2002.

Organochlorine Pesticides, Pollution, Sabancuy, Coastal Lagoons

Ramírez-Elías, M. , Córdova-Quiroz, A. , Cerón-Bretón, J. , Cerón-Bretón, R. , Osten, J. and Cortés-Simón, J. (2016) Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) and Endosulfan in Sediments of Sabancuy Lagoon, Campeche, Mexico. Open Journal of Ecology, 6, 22-31. doi: 10.4236/oje.2016.61003.