**5. Conclusions**

The difference physicochemical characteristic and pollutants concentrations of analyzed in the coastal lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico are due to the biochemical behavior, climatic factors and, of course, the industrial and urban discharges that reach these lagoons over time. Other factors are the morphology of the coastal lagoons, presence of mangrove isles that can serve as traps of inorganic or organic matter and pollutants retention. In general, it is considered that urban wastewater constituted the most important source of nutrients which tendency to eutrophication in those lagoons.

This urban wastewater constitutes the most important source of metals in rivers and lagoons two. These effluents consist of (1) untreated or mechanically treated

**17**

Mexico

*Pollution Issues in Coastal Lagoons in the Gulf of Mexico DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86537*

**Acknowledgements**

**Author details**

Alfonso Vazquez Botello1

Susana Villanueva Fragoso1

Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

\*Address all correspondence to: gdlle@unam.mx

provided the original work is properly cited.

figures and bibliographic search.

waters only; (2) substances which have passed through filters and biological treatment plants, either solubilized or as finely divided particles; and (3) substances that are served by an emitter and that discharge to the coastal zone. The solid particles of wastewater from coastal cities cause the enrichment of metals, such as Cr, which can have high concentrations, as well as the use of chromates in petrochemical processes during oil extraction. It is worth mentioning that there are numerous studies on the role of atmospheric transport as a source of pollutants (metals, pesticides and aromatic hydrocarbons) and the one that stands out is the contribution of Pb which has been demonstrated in the ice of the North Pole and Greenland, where concentrations of 0.200 μg Pb/kg of ice [56]. The foregoing reveals the fact that the atmospheric contribution, far from being assumed insignificant, even becomes the main source of supply of some pollutants for coastal systems. However, the accelerated development of certain economic activities such as the oil industry, energy generation, tourism, agricultural development and maritime transport have led to disorderly growth in the national coastal areas, with consequent environmental conflicts arising from competition for space, the use of resources and the generation of toxic and polluting waste. Indeed, the conflicts that affect the quality of life and decrease the competitiveness of the same sectors and their economic activities.

We thank Salvador Hernandez Pulido for his support in the elaboration of the

, Guadalupe de la Lanza Espino2

and Guadalupe Ponce Velez1

1 Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology, National Autonomous University of

2 Institute of Biology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City,

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*,

*Pollution Issues in Coastal Lagoons in the Gulf of Mexico DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86537*

*Lagoon Environments around the World - A Scientific Perspective*

*4.2.3 Organochlorine pesticides (OC)*

of OC of 36.21 and 19.65 ng g<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>

biomagnification capacity of these agrotoxics.

with 5.1 ng g<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>

**5. Conclusions**

tion in those lagoons.

[50, 51].

activities carried out in each of the surrounding areas, as well as the special and temporary hydrodynamic predominant according to the different seasons of the year

coastal lagoon ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico, provides information on the anthropogenic alteration that has been occurring for several years on these sites, given the lack of vigilance on the part of the Mexican environmental authorities in order to avoid the use of banned pesticides and internationally designated as highly dangerous, so it is urgent to modify agricultural practices, and to promote the integrated management of pests that include biological control and agroecology [52]. For comparison purposes, in **Table 2**, OC data from two tropical coastal lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico were integrated, the first being El Yucateco, whose history of anthropogenic impact has been remote since 1950 at the beginning of oil exploration and exploitation. The second is Mecoacán, considered the area of greatest fishing production in this Mexican coastal region, both located in the tropical state of Tabasco. The data of the ΣOC recorded in the recent sediments of El Yucateco

were the highest in the comparison, with a value of 57.71 ng g<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>

The analysis carried out to determine the presence of OC in sediments of various

ence of beta-HCH one of the highly persistent isomers of Lindane as an unequivocal trace of the use commercial of this acaricide, as well as high levels of Heptachlor epoxide, records of other cyclodienes, mainly Aldrin, Endosulfan sulfate as a product of biogeochemical transformation of the commercial product Endosulfan and the whole group of DDT with higher prevalence of *p,p'*-DDT [53, 54]. In decreasing order, Alvarado and Tampamachoco followed with a total concentration

Subsequently, the global data on sediments from Mecoacan lagoon was presented

southern Veracruz already mentioned; The dominant pesticides in the sediments of this Tabasco lagoon were similar to those of El Yucateco, Heptachlor epoxide and, to a lesser degree, Aldrin, Dieldrin and beta-HCH as a Lindane residue. The DDT family was not detected [55]. Finally, the Terminos lagoon presented the lowest total concentration of OC of the comparison presented in **Table 2** with 0.18 ng g<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>

so it can be clearly observed the coastal sites that require greater environmental monitoring as well as the adequate application of the regulation on these xenobiotics to reduce the sedimentary load of OC to concentrations of lower or no biological risk and to avoid the ecological impact and human health given the persistence and

The difference physicochemical characteristic and pollutants concentrations of analyzed in the coastal lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico are due to the biochemical behavior, climatic factors and, of course, the industrial and urban discharges that reach these lagoons over time. Other factors are the morphology of the coastal lagoons, presence of mangrove isles that can serve as traps of inorganic or organic matter and pollutants retention. In general, it is considered that urban wastewater constituted the most important source of nutrients which tendency to eutrophica-

This urban wastewater constitutes the most important source of metals in rivers and lagoons two. These effluents consist of (1) untreated or mechanically treated

, respectively, as already described in this chapter;

contrasting with El Yucateco and the neighboring coastal systems of

and the high pres-

,

**16**

waters only; (2) substances which have passed through filters and biological treatment plants, either solubilized or as finely divided particles; and (3) substances that are served by an emitter and that discharge to the coastal zone. The solid particles of wastewater from coastal cities cause the enrichment of metals, such as Cr, which can have high concentrations, as well as the use of chromates in petrochemical processes during oil extraction. It is worth mentioning that there are numerous studies on the role of atmospheric transport as a source of pollutants (metals, pesticides and aromatic hydrocarbons) and the one that stands out is the contribution of Pb which has been demonstrated in the ice of the North Pole and Greenland, where concentrations of 0.200 μg Pb/kg of ice [56]. The foregoing reveals the fact that the atmospheric contribution, far from being assumed insignificant, even becomes the main source of supply of some pollutants for coastal systems. However, the accelerated development of certain economic activities such as the oil industry, energy generation, tourism, agricultural development and maritime transport have led to disorderly growth in the national coastal areas, with consequent environmental conflicts arising from competition for space, the use of resources and the generation of toxic and polluting waste. Indeed, the conflicts that affect the quality of life and decrease the competitiveness of the same sectors and their economic activities.
