Members

My research is focuses on the safety of edible marine resources in relation to levels of environmental pollution from maritime and industrial activity. Marine organisms are exposed to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Tributyltin (TBT), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (HPAs), organochlorine compounds (PCBs), pesticides (OCPs), dioxins and furans, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) are accumulated in edible tissues at levels that affect consumers health. My principal aim is to evaluate the safety of Patagonian fishery resources with different levels of processing through new studies. My work involves collecting samples in the field and industry, analytical determinations and toxicity experiments with various pollutants to evaluate the food quality and the level of risk to human health.

• To monitoring pollutants in fishery resources from natural and industrial origin and compare with national and international regulations.
• To correlate the levels and types of environmental pollutants with the fishing areas or aquaculture sites.
• To identify target tissues to assess routes of exposure for consumers and provide useful information to governmental organisms.
• To obtain the necessary information to complete the nutritional composition profile of marine resources in Chubut province.

My research is based on the study of environmental pollutants from maritime and industrial activity. The main objective is to evaluate the safety of fishery resources that are processed both at industrial and artisanal levels in Chubut. There are national and international regulations for some pollutants in the environment, although many others are still not analysed. I have been working with sublethal effects in marine gastropods exposed to tributyltin (TBT) from antifouling paints in harbour areas of Argentina. Imposex development, oxidative stress, lethal median doses of TBT, morphometric differences between imposexed and non-imposexed females, heavy metal bioaccumulation and reproductive failures in gastropods from Patagonia were some topics from my PhD research.
Currently, I am working on the exposure of organisms to persistent pollutants through diet and the potential risk to human health by consumption of invertebrates and fish in Patagonia.