COMPARISON OF LEVELS OF ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES AND PCBS IN BIVALVES OF KHNIFISS LAGOON, MOROCCO.

The article discusses a study on the concentration levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), HCB and dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) and derivatives, aldrin, heptachlor and its epoxide in clams, cockles and oysters from the Khnifiss Lagoon ecosystem on the South Atlantic coast of Morocco. Samples of mussels, clams and oysters were chosen as sentinel bivalve species due to their economic interest and conditions of life. The bivalve samples were then freeze-dried and crushed to determine the concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl. The study confirms the occurrence of the main compounds of the organochlorine pesticides in Khnifiss Lagoon and cites atmospheric contamination as the possible reason for chlorinated compounds pollution in the lagoon.