Eleven species of Neotropical migrant passerines collected in Illinois (USA) during May 1996, were analyzed for the presence of organochlorine (OC) pesticides. At least one of five OC pesticide residues was detected in 66 of 72 birds, representing all species examined. The contaminants most frequently detected were p,p'-DDE, dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide, all of which were present in the 10-3...

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can travel thousands of miles, accumulate in the food chain, and persist in the environment, taking as long as centuries to degrade. POPs are known to play a role in birth defects, cancer, immune system dysfunction, and reproductive problems in wildlife. While the effects of POPs on human health are unclear, many researchers believe that long-term exposure c...

In recent decades, raptors have become gradually more protected in almost all European countries, but their decline often persists, due to pollution, habitat alteration and fragmentation, or to human direct/indirect disturbance (Tucker & Heath, 1994). Peregrine Falco peregrinus populations suffered a dramatic decline during the 1950s and 1960s in the boreal hemisphere, following the adoption of...

This paper focuses on the risks of environmental carcinogenic and/or genotoxic contaminants in food. It describes, for each contaminant studied, the carcinogenicity and genotoxicity, the toxicological reference values, the exposure and the risk characterisation. The compounds studied were classified into 3 categories based on a risk assessment. Effects others than carcinogenicity and/or genotox...

Environmental contamination by pesticides has been documented in biotic and abiotic components. These persistent organic pollutants are lipid soluble, nonbiodegradable, and endocrine disrupters. The present study was therefore planned to determine whether the levels of these pesticides like DDT and its metabolites DDD and DDE, dieldrin, heptachlor, and HCH and its isomers (alpha, beta, and gamm...

Two croaker fish species, Pseudotolithus senegalensis and Pseudotolithus typuswere sampled seasonally from Lagos Lagoon between December 2008 and September 2009 and analysed for pesticide residues. The muscle tissues of the fishes were subjected to cold extraction and subsequently clean-up. The detection and determination of the organochlorine residues were performed using gas chromatography.A ...

This study was performed to determine if developmental exposure of rats to heptachlor (H) during the last half of gestation through puberty adversely affects adult functioning of the immune and reproductive systems. Time-bred pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats were dosed by gavage with H (0, 30, 300, or 3000 microg/kg/day) from gestation day (GD) 12 to postnatal day (PND) 7, followed by direct...