ABSTRACT
Chlordecone is an organochlorine insecticide that was used intensively in the French West Indies, Guadeloupe and Martinique, from 1973 to 1993 to control the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus. It was only in 1999 that health and food authorities and regulatory agencies revealed that it was extensively distributed in soils, rivers, spring, and ground waters, aquatic biota, and crops. Given a large proportion of
13.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 177 13.2 Population Description ................................................................................ 178 13.3 Exposure Assessment .................................................................................. 179 13.4 Other Characteristics and Environmental Exposures of Mothers and
Children ....................................................................................................... 180 13.5 Statistical Analysis ...................................................................................... 180 13.6 Study of the Associations between Chlordecone Exposure and
Pregnancy Complications and Outcomes .................................................... 180 13.6.1 Pregnancy Complications ................................................................ 180 13.6.2 Preterm Birth ................................................................................... 181
13.7 Study of the Associations between Chlordecone Exposure and Child Development ................................................................................................ 182 13.7.1 Growth ............................................................................................. 182 13.7.2 Development .................................................................................... 182
13.8 Thyroid Hormones ....................................................................................... 184 13.9 Strengths and Limitations of This Study ..................................................... 185 13.10 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 186 References .............................................................................................................. 186
tap water, local bottled spring water, and local foodstuffs, animals, and vegetables were polluted and these products have been consumed, it was feared that human beings would also be contaminated (Dubuisson et al. 2007). The toxicity and harmful effects of exposure of humans to chlordecone was revealed in 1975 following a poisoning episode involving chlordecone plant workers in the industrial city of Hopewell, VA, USA (Cannon et al. 1978). The exposed workers showed evidence of toxicity involving the central nervous system and testis (Cannon et al. 1978, Cohn et al. 1978, Taylor 1982). This event involved only male workers, so no data or studies could be done for women, pregnant women, or their offspring. Meantime, experimental studies with rodents have shown that gestational and perinatal chlordecone exposure is detrimental to normal fetal development and it impairs neurobehavior during pre-weaning and post-weaning development (Faroon et al. 1995, Mactutus et al. 1982, 1984, Mactutus and Tilson 1984, 1985). Chlordecone crosses the placental barrier in pregnant rodents and is transferred to the newborn through maternal breastfeeding, thus exposing the developing organism during the earliest stages of development (Kavlock et al. 1980). In addition, it has been shown that chlordecone is an endocrine-disrupting chemical with well-established estrogenic and progestogenic characteristics (Hammond et al. 1979, Eroschenko 1981).
