title: Contamination of free-range ducks by chlordecone in Martinique (French West Indies): a field study.
abstract: The former use of chlordecone (CLD) in the French West Indies has resulted in long-term pollution of soils and subsequently of food chains. In contaminated areas, free-range ducks used to control weeds in orchards may be exposed to CLD through polluted soil ingestion. The question arises whether they may be consumed. Muscovy ducks were raised on a guava orchard planted on a soil moderately contaminated (410 μg CLD/kg dry matter). Ducks were raised indoor up to 6 weeks of age and allowed to range freely outdoors thereafter. Twenty-nine females were sequentially slaughtered by groups of 2 to 5 ducks, after 4, 16, 19, 22 or 26 weeks spent in the orchard or after 16-17 weeks in the orchard followed by 3, 6 or 9 weeks in a closed shelter for depuration. CLD concentration increased from 258 to 1051, 96 to 278, 60 to 169 and 48 to 145 μg/kg fresh matter (FM) as the exposure through grazing increased from 4 to 22 weeks, in liver, abdominal fat and leg with and without skin, respectively. Eggs collected in the orchard contained up to 1001 μg CLD/kg FM. All these values exceeded the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of 20 μg/kg FM. CLD concentration in all tissues was divided by around 10 within the 9-week confinement period. Despite this quite rapid decontamination, it is estimated that 12-13 weeks would be required to achieve the MRL in liver and in eggs, and 5-6 weeks in leg muscle. Such durations would be too long in practice. Thus, the consumption of products from free-range ducks should be avoided, even in areas mildly contaminated with CLD.
authors.affiliation: INRA, USC 340, URAFPA, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy F-54500, France; Université de Lorraine, USC 340, URAFPA, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy F-54500, France. Electronic address: catherine.jondreville@univ-lorraine.fr.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jondreville
authors.affiliation: FREDON, Croix Rivail, Ducos, Martinique F-97224, France.
authors.forename: Anaïs
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lavigne
authors.affiliation: INRA, USC 340, URAFPA, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy F-54500, France; Université de Lorraine, USC 340, URAFPA, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy F-54500, France.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jurjanz
authors.affiliation: DAAF-Salim, Tivoli, Fort-de-France, Martinique F-97262, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dalibard
authors.affiliation: DAAF-Salim, Tivoli, Fort-de-France, Martinique F-97262, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Liabeuf
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, Unité HortSys, PRAM, Le Lamentin, Martinique F-97285, France.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clostre
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, Unité HortSys, PRAM, Le Lamentin, Martinique F-97285, France; CIRAD, Unité HortSys, Montpellier F-34398, France.
authors.forename: Magalie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lesueur-Jannoyer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007631:Chlordecone / Q000378:metabolism*; D004372:Ducks / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000378:metabolism*; D014900:West Indies
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007306:Insecticides; D007631:Chlordecone
keywords: Chlordecone; Contamination; Depuration; Duck; Soil