Chlordecone Level

The French West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique) are characterized by a major use of pesticides in bananas plantation from the 1950s. These crops used organochlorine insecticides and especially chlordecone (CLD) from 1972 to 1993. The lack of biotic and abiotic degradation of CLD led to persistent soil pollution, contamination of surface and deep waters, of numerous plant and animal, and of the population. The extent and persistence of CLD contamination over time is a major issue for these territories. An internal reference value (0.4μg/l) was recently determined. Although useful for a population approach, it must be used with caution for the interpretation of an individual result. In response to the strong social demand expressed by the population for access to free chlordecone blood tests, a screening program for blood chlordecone test was authorized by the 2019 French Finance Act.