@article{fdi:010061223,
  title = {{C}hlordecone fate and mineralisation in a tropical soil (andosol) microcosm under aerobic conditions},
  author = {{F}ernandez {B}ayo, {J}. and {S}aison, {C}arine and {V}oltz, {M}. and {D}isko, {U}. and {H}ofmann, {D}. and {B}erns, {A}. {E}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{C}hlordecone is a persistent organochlorine insecticide that, even decades after its ban, poses a threat to the environment and human health. {N}evertheless, its environmental fate in soils has scarcely been investigated, and elementary data on its degradation and behaviour in soil are lacking. {T}he mineralisation and sorption of chlordecone and the formation of possible metabolites were evaluated in a tropical agricultural andosol. {S}oil microcosms with two different soil horizons ({S}-{A} and {S}-{B}) were incubated for 215 days with {C}-14-chlordecone. {A}t five different times (1, 33, 88, 150 and 215 days) the extractability of {C}-14-chlordecone was analysed. {M}ineralisation was monitored using ({CO}2)-{C}-14 traps of {N}a{OH}. {T}he appearance of metabolites was studied using thin layer and gas chromatography techniques. {A}t the end of the experiment, the water soluble {C}-14-activity was 2% of the remaining {C}-14-chlordecone for {S}-{A} and 8% for {S}-{B}. {O}nly 12% of the remaining activity was non extractable and more than 80% remained extractable with organic solvents. {F}or the first time to our knowledge, a significant mineralisation of chlordecone was measured in a microcosm under aerobic conditions (4.9% for {S}-{A} and 3.2% for {S}-{B} of the initial {C}-14-activity). {T}he drastically lower emission of ({CO}2)-{C}-14 in sterilised microcosms indicated the biological origin of chlordecone mineralisation in the non-sterilised microcosms. {N}o metabolites could be detected in the soil extracts. {T}he mineralisation rate of chlordecone decreased by one order of magnitude throughout the incubation period. {T}hus, the chlordecone content in the soil remained large. {T}his study confirms the existence of chlordecone degrading organisms in a tropical andosol. {T}he reasons why their activity is restricted should be elucidated to allow the development of bioremediation approaches. {P}ossible reasons are a heterogeneous distribution a chlordecone between sub-compartments with different microbial activities or a degradation of chlordecone by co-metabolic processes controlled by a limited supply of nutrients.},
  keywords = {{C}hlordecone ; {O}rganochlorine pesticides ; {M}ineralisation ; {A}ndosol ; {M}etabolites ; {M}icrocosm ; {GUADELOUPE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{S}cience of the {T}otal {E}nvironment},
  volume = {463},
  numero = {},
  pages = {395--403},
  ISSN = {0048-9697},
  year = {2013},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.06.044},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010061223},
}