Chlordecone (CLD), was widely applied in banana fields in the French West Indies from 1972 to 1993. The WISORCH model was constructed to assess soil contamination by CLD and estimated that it lasts from 100 to 600 years, depending on leaching intensity and assuming no degradation. However, recent studies demonstrated that CLD is degraded in the environment, hence questioning the reliability of previous estimations. This paper shows how to improve the model and provides insights into the long-term dissipation of CLD. In-situ observations were made in nearly 2545 plots between 2001 and 2020, and 17 plots were sampled at two dates. Results of soil analyses showed an unexpected 4-fold decrease in CLD concentrations in the soil, in contrast to simulations made using the first version of WISORCH at the time. Neither erosion, nor CLD leaching explained these discrepancies. In a top-down modeling approach, these new observations of CLD concentrations led us to implement a new dissipation process in the WISORCH model that corresponds to a DT50 dissipation half-life of 5 years. The new version of the improved model allowed us to update the prediction of the persistence of soil pollution, with soil decontamination estimated for the 2070s. This development calls for re-evaluation of soil pollution status. Further validation of the new version of WISORCH is needed so it can contribute to crop management on contaminated soil.

Baseline marine litter abundance and distribution on Saint Martin Island, Bay of Bengal, were assessed. Seventy-two transects (100–150 m) along 12 km of coastline were surveyed for litter items every two weeks for two months. The most abundant items were polythene bags, food wrappers, plastic bottles/caps, straws, styrofoam, plastic cups, plastic fragments, fishing nets, clothes, and rubber buoys. Tourism, local markets, hotels, domestic waste, and fishing activities were primary sources of marine litter. According to the mean clean coast index (CCI), all transects were clean, of which 11.3 % and 14.1 % of sandy beaches and rocky shores with sandy beaches were reported dirty, respectively. Northern Saint Martin Island comprised sandy beaches (2.8 %) and was extremely dirty. In addition, plastic abundance index (PAI) analysis showed that 24 % of sites, out of 72 sites, were under “very high abundance”, 33 % were “high abundance”, 33 % showed “moderate abundance”, and 4 % were classified as “low abundance”. Establishing baseline results of marine litter abundance and distribution on Saint Martin Island may help improve island conservation and mitigation strategies (e.g., improved waste management, beach cleaning activities to raise public awareness, local government litter reduction policies, and increase local pro-environmental behavioral change).

Here we investigate microplastics contamination on beaches of four islands of the Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius and St. Martin/Maarten). These islands are close to the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, which contains high levels of microplastics. On average 261 ± 6 microplastics/kg of dry sand were found, with a maximum of 620 ± 96 microplastics on Grandes Cayes, Saint Martin. The vast majority of these microplastics (>95%) were fibers. Levels of microplastics differed among islands, with significantly lower levels found in St. Eustatius compared to the other Islands. No difference in microplastic levels was found between windward and leeward beaches. Our research provides a detailed study on microplastics on beaches in the Lesser Antilles. These results are important in developing a deeper understanding of the extent of the microplastic challenge within the Caribbean region, a hotspot of biodiversity.

Marine mercury (Hg) concentrations have been monitored in the French coastline for the last half a century using bivalves. The analyses presented in this study concerned 192 samples of bivalves (mussels: Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis and oysters: Crassostrea gigas and Isognomon alatus) from 77 sampling stations along the French coast and in the French Antilles sea. The goals of this study were to assess MeHg levels in various common bivalves from French coastline, and to identify possible geographic, taxonomic or temporal variations of concentrations. We show that the evolution of methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations covary with total mercury (HgT) concentrations. Moreover, in most of the study sites, HgT concentrations have not decreased since 1987, despite regulations to decrease or ban mercury used for anthropic activities.

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have caused substantial concern worldwide. This study surveyed the presence of MPs in surface water and sediments across the coastal area of Saint Martin Island in the Bay of Bengal. MPs were collected following the standard protocol and identified as various types like expanded polystyrene, foam, filaments, fragments, lines, fibres, and paint flakes. Total MPs pollution in beach sediment was 317 particles/kg across 14 sampling sites, varied from 11 to 10589 particles/m² of dry sediment and 0.95 particles/m³, having ~2 to 19 particles/30 min trawl in coastal surface water samples. Most of the frequent MPs in beach sediments ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 mm, whereas the fragments were predominant in sediment and surface water samples. MPs distribution revealed that different shapes were dominant at different sites within the Island. The calculated pollution risk index due to the presence of MPs indicated that the sediment and surface water samples were under the low-risk category. However, polymeric risk assessment and contamination factors suggest that the coastline is significantly polluted, as high pollution load indices (PLI >1) were observed for sediments and coastal surface water samples. This work provides the detailed MPs data in the coastal environment of Saint Martin Island for the first time; hence it may be helpful to develop proper strategies to deal with environmental problems.

The present study aimed to assess the levels of heavy metals and metalloids present in six seaweeds and their potential impact on consumption. The highest concentration of 11 metals, i.e., Be (0.47 mg/kg), Co (4.34 mg/kg), Cr (23.46 mg/kg), Cu (11.96 mg/kg), Fe (2290.26 mg/kg), Li (11.55 mg/kg), Ni (13.75 mg/kg), Pb (6.67 mg/kg), Ti (736.62 mg/kg), Tl (0.14 mg/kg), and V (33.09 mg/kg) were observed in Enteromorpha intestinalis (green seaweeds). Besides, the highest concentration of Ca (1071.09 mg/kg), Cd (5.81 mg/kg), Mn (1003.41 mg/kg), Sr (2838.86 mg/kg), and Zn (41.95 mg/kg) were found in Padina tetrastromatica (brown seaweeds). Eight metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mn, Cr, Fe) have been used to assess the potential health risk for adults, but no potential health risk was detected (HQ value > 1). The HI value of E. intestinalis and P. tetrastromatica were >1, implying that these two seaweeds are not safe for human consumption as there is a carcinogenic health risk for adults.

Seagrass beds are increasingly impacted by human activities in coastal areas, particularly in tropical regions. The objective of this research program was to study seagrass beds characteristics under various environmental conditions in the French Antilles (FA, Caribbean Sea). A total of 61 parameters, from plant physiology to seagrass ecosystem, were tested along a gradient of anthropogenic conditions, distributed across 11 sites and 3 islands of the FA. A selection of 7 parameters was identified as relevant for the monitoring of seagrass meadows in the framework of public policies. They combined “early warning indicators” (e.g. nutrients and some trace metals) and long-term responding parameters (e.g. shoot density) adapted to management time scales. The ecological status of seagrass meadows was evaluated using a PCA. This work is a first step towards monitoring and management of seagrass meadows in the FA.

Massive Sargassum sp. beachings have been occurring on Caribbean shores since 2011. The sargassum involved in such events are S. fluitans and S. natans, two drifting species whose proliferation has been observed in the southern North Atlantic Ocean. Both for reasons of environmental and sanitary assessment and repurposing, Sargassum sp. that is ashore piled up on beaches and decaying must be studied. Studies are required because of the concerning content of pelagic arsenic reported in the literature. They are also needed owing to Sargassum sp. contamination subsequent to historical pollution in the French West Indies by chlordecone, an insecticide used against the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus. The present study aims to describe the contamination and decontamination toxicokinetics of arsenic and chlordecone for Sargassum sp. stranding on shores and shallows in the Caribbean, in order to support the decision-making of the authorities involved. In situ and in mesocosm experiments performed in the present study show that Sargassum sp. contamination by chlordecone is mainly done after 2 h of exposition and reaches equilibrium after a day of exposure in polluted water, but BCF study suggests that the phenomenon is not actively supported (passive soption only). Arsenic transudation is intense in the case of immerged algae both. Half of the arsenic content is transudated after 13 h at sea and will transudate until vestigial arsenic concentration. Sargassum sp. contamination by arsenic, due to phytoaccumulation offshore, is broadly homogeneous before decay, and then leaks lead rapidly to a decrease in concentration in Sargassum sp. necromass, questioning the subsequent contamination of the coastal environment.

Chlordecone, an organochlorine insecticide, was widely used in the French West Indies banana plantations. We set up a cohort of banana plantation workers who worked between 1973 and 1993, the period of authorized use of chlordecone. Vital status and causes of death were collected from French national registries. Workers were followed up from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2015. Cause-specific mortality in the cohort was compared to that of the general population of the French West Indies by computing standardized mortality ratios (SMRs). A total of 11,112 workers (149,526 person-years, 77% men) were included in the mortality analysis, and 3647 deaths occurred over the study period. There was a slight deficit in all-cause mortality, which was statistically significant in men (SMR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.89–0.96), but not in women (SMR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.89–1.04). All-cancer mortality did not differ significantly from that of the general population (men: SMR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.90–1.03; women: SMR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.89–1.21). Significant excesses of deaths were observed for stomach cancer in women (SMR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.24–2.89) and pancreatic cancer in women farm owners (SMR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.06–4.39). Mortality from prostate cancer was similar to that of the general population in the whole cohort (SMR = 1.00; 95% CI 0.89–1.13) and non-significantly elevated among farm workers (SMR = 1.10, 95% CI 0.87–1.36). Non-significant increases in mortality were also observed for lung cancer in women, leukemia in men, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in both genders.

Chlordecone (CLD) is an organochlorine pesticide whose extended use led to the contamination of at least 20 % of agricultural soils from the French West Indies. Livestock reared on polluted areas are involuntary contaminated by CLD and their level of contamination may exceed the threshold values set by the European Union. Thus, characterizing the CLD behaviour in farm animals appear as a real issue in terms of food safety for local populations. The aim of this experiment was (i) to characterize the CLD disappearance in various tissues after exposure cessation and (ii) to evaluate the potential effect of body fatness on this process. Two groups of eight growing goats were submitted to either a basal diet or a high energy diet for 50 days before being intravenously contaminated with 1 mg CLD kg⁻¹ body weight. Two days after CLD contamination, half of the kids of each experimental group were slaughtered in order to determine pollutant levels in the serum, liver, adipose tissues, and empty carcass. The remaining animals were submitted to a 30-day decontamination period before slaughtering and measurements as described above. The implemented nutritional plan resulted in both groups of kids with significant differences in terms of body fatness. CLD was mainly concentrated in the liver of animals as described in the literature. It was found also in kids’ empty carcass and adipose tissues; however its levels in the empty carcass (muscles and bones) were unexpected since they were higher than in fat. These results indicate that the lipophilic pollutant CLD is found mainly in liver but also in muscles and fat. Concerning the animals’ depuration, a 30-d decontamination period was sufficient to observe a decrease of CLD levels by more than 75 % in both experimental groups and neither CLD concentrations nor CLD amounts were significantly affected by kids’ body fatness.