Chlorinated pesticides in the bodies of dolphins of the French Mediterranean coastal environment

The concentrations of organochlorinated pesticides including lindane, heptachlor, aldrin, heptachlor-epoxide, endosulfan I, dieldrin,and endrin were determinated in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) (n = 26), and 2 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) (n = 2),stranded on the French Mediterranean coasts. Studies are carried out on the lung, the muscle, the kidney, the liver, and the blubber. The concentrationsof all the analysed compounds were detected to variable levels in each tissue and organ. In blubber, dieldrin is generally the mostabundant coumpound (215.3 ± 290.3 ng g-1 lw), followed by endrin (207.7 ± 217.5 ng g-1 lw), heptachlor-epoxid (106.6 ± 107.1 ng g-1 lw), endosulfanI (46.6 ± 32.8 ng g-1 lw), lindane (16.6 ± 12.1 ng g-1 lw), aldrin (11.9 ± 8.4 ng g-1 lw) and heptachlor (6.7 ± 4.2 ng g-1 lw). These valuesare comparable to those previously obtained by other authors during the years 1990.