Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Environmental Chemistry Letters
Chlordecone levels in green turtles from Martinique 30 years after the national ban of this insecticide
Abstract
Chlordecone, banned in 1993, is a persistent toxic insecticide that is presently monitored in humans and food-producing animals in the French West Indies, yet marine wildlife impregnation is poorly known. Here, we measured chlordecone concentrations in the plasma of 77 green turtles, sampled in 2022 and 2023 in two bays of the Martinique island, using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Chlordecone was quantified in 58.4% of the turtles samples. We did not observe year- nor site-effects. Interestingly, we compared the concentrations with human plasma toxicity threshold. Results show that 17.8% of individuals displayed chlordecone levels exceeding the toxicity threshold levels for humans. These results are of concern for human and wildlife health because turtles were sampled in fishing and swimming zones, 30 years after the ban of chlordecone.
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BibTeX
@article{dupont2026chlordecone,
title = {{Chlordecone levels in green turtles from Martinique 30 years after the national ban of this insecticide}},
author = {Sophie Dupont and Maurice Millet and Paco Bustamante and Jérôme Fort and Marc Girondot and Guillaume Le Loc’h and Jérôme Moreau and Nathalie Aubert and Ouvéa Bourgeois and Louis Boutrin and Pascale Chevallier and Tao Chevallier and Cyrielle Delvenne and Pascal Fournier and Christine Fournier-Chambrillon and Cédric Frouin and Agathe Gaffard and Caroline Habold and Gaëlle Hielard and Anthony Landreau and Eugène Larcher and Aurélie Le Loc’h and Yvon Le Maho and Nicolas Lecerf and Nathaël Lecerf and Fabien Lefebvre and Pierre Lelong and Muriel Lepori and Laurent Louis-Jean and Simon Mallet and Jordan Martin and Stéphane Meslier and Karine Monceau and Esteban Pimentel and Fabienne Priam and Sidney Régis and Mathieu Giraudeau and Damien Chevallier},
journal = {Environmental Chemistry Letters},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1007/s10311-026-01923-1},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05787308v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Chlordecone levels in green turtles from Martinique 30 years after the national ban of this insecticide
AU - Sophie Dupont
AU - Maurice Millet
AU - Paco Bustamante
AU - Jérôme Fort
AU - Marc Girondot
AU - Guillaume Le Loc’h
AU - Jérôme Moreau
AU - Nathalie Aubert
AU - Ouvéa Bourgeois
AU - Louis Boutrin
AU - Pascale Chevallier
AU - Tao Chevallier
AU - Cyrielle Delvenne
AU - Pascal Fournier
AU - Christine Fournier-Chambrillon
AU - Cédric Frouin
AU - Agathe Gaffard
AU - Caroline Habold
AU - Gaëlle Hielard
AU - Anthony Landreau
AU - Eugène Larcher
AU - Aurélie Le Loc’h
AU - Yvon Le Maho
AU - Nicolas Lecerf
AU - Nathaël Lecerf
AU - Fabien Lefebvre
AU - Pierre Lelong
AU - Muriel Lepori
AU - Laurent Louis-Jean
AU - Simon Mallet
AU - Jordan Martin
AU - Stéphane Meslier
AU - Karine Monceau
AU - Esteban Pimentel
AU - Fabienne Priam
AU - Sidney Régis
AU - Mathieu Giraudeau
AU - Damien Chevallier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - Environmental Chemistry Letters
DO - 10.1007/s10311-026-01923-1
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05787308v1
AB - Chlordecone, banned in 1993, is a persistent toxic insecticide that is presently monitored in humans and food-producing animals in the French West Indies, yet marine wildlife impregnation is poorly known. Here, we measured chlordecone concentrations in the plasma of 77 green turtles, sampled in 2022 and 2023 in two bays of the Martinique island, using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Chlordecone was quantified in 58.4% of the turtles samples. We did not observe year- nor site-effects. Interestingly, we compared the concentrations with human plasma toxicity threshold. Results show that 17.8% of individuals displayed chlordecone levels exceeding the toxicity threshold levels for humans. These results are of concern for human and wildlife health because turtles were sampled in fishing and swimming zones, 30 years after the ban of chlordecone.
SN - 1610-3653
SN - 1610-3661
ER -