Effects of mixtures containing chlordecone and a dechlorinated by-product on hydra regeneration capacity: use of experimental design to evaluate the toxicity risk associated with remediation programs in long-lasting polluted areas

Chlordecone (CLD), an obsolete insecticide, used in the French West Indies between 1972 and 1993, is persistent in the environment but can be dechlorinated either chemically or under the action of microorganisms. Therefore, if soil remediation programs based on these processes are implemented in areas still contaminated today, those will see their concentrations of dechlorinated derivatives increase and these compounds will be also found in freshwater by streaming, leaching and erosion processes. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate, at environmental concentrations, the toxic effects of mixtures of chlordecone and a three-chlorine substituted byproduct. A hydra clone, which has been confirmed to be Hydra vulgaris Pallas, 1766 has been retained for bioassays where the toxicity has been evaluated by regeneration capacity during exposure. Exposure to mixtures is complex to investigate by classical methods, therefore, an experimental design associated to a mathematical model has been used to predict the effects of all the mixtures and to detect the toxic influence of each compound. The predictive model is discussed regarding the stochastic “endocrine disruptor effect” of CLD. At probable environmental concentrations of the compounds in the mixture, results show that impairment of regeneration capacity is explained mostly by the presence of CLD in the mixtures and support the implementation of remediation programs aimed at dechlorination of this persistent organochlorine pesticide.