Levels of persistent organic pollutants in breast milk of Maya women in Yucatan, Mexico

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• 作者：Ángel G. Polanco Rodríguez…
• 关键词：Biomonitoring ; Breast milk ; Karstic aquifer ; Pesticides ; Pollution
• 刊名：Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：189
• 期：2
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Earth and Environmental Science
• 刊物主题：Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Environmental Management; Ecotoxicology; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Ecology;
• 出版者：Springer International Publishing
• ISSN：1573-2959
• 卷排序：189

文摘

In this study, 24 breast milk samples, obtained from rural Maya women, from municipalities of Yucatan, Mexico, were analyzed for organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues by gas chromatography. Recent studies have shown that Maya communities have a poor perception about the proper usage and handling of OCP. The karstic soil in this area has a high vulnerability to groundwater pollution by the use of OCP in agriculture and livestock activities. The impact of the ecosystem on human health is much more critical due to the prevailing poverty and a very low educational level of these communities. About 30% of the Maya population consumes water directly from contaminated wells and sinkholes, resulting in a chronic exposure to OCP. The samples served to identify and quantify high levels of OCP residues (18.43 mg/kg of heptachlor epoxide and 1.92 mg/kg of endrin in the metropolitan zone; 2.10 mg/kg of dieldrin, 0.117 mg/kg of endosulfan II, 0.103 mg/kg of heptachlor, 0.178 mg/kg of endrin, and 0.127 mg/kg of endrin aldehyde in the main agricultural zone and on the west coast). The detected levels of OCP residues are a major concern and represent a potential risk to women and children in the region. This could be associated with the high rates of cervical uterine and breast cancer mortality in Yucatan. Thus, regulations on the usage of OCP and their enforcement are necessary, and it is important to establish a yearly monitoring program for OCP residues in breast milk and groundwater, as well as to implement health promotion programs for women in particular and the general population in general.