Chlordane

Traded as: Aspon, Belt, Chloriandin, Chlorkil, Chlordane, Corodan, Cortilan-neu, Dowchlor, HCS 3260, Kypchlor, M140, Niran, Octachlor, Octaterr, Ortho-Klor, Synklor, Tat chlor 4, Topichlor, Toxichlor, Veliscol-1068

What is it? Broad spectre contact insecticide, very toxic, classified as persistent organic pollutant (POP) and banned by the Stockholm Convention in 2001.

Use (purpose):

• Extensively used in agriculture for vegetables, cereals, corn, oil plants, potatoes, sugar cane, sugar beet, fruits, cotton, and jute.
• Root and sprout treatment for plants not intended for human consumption (ornamental plants, landscaping) before transplantation.
• Termite control (wood treatment and domestic fumigations).
• Protection of buried cables. It has an environmental persistency of more than 1 year, and of more than 20 years in the soil.

Data suggest that Chlordane bioconcentrates (meaning that is adsorbed directly from the water) instead of bioaccumulating (which is adsorbed from food and drinking water). It has been detected in the air, the water and in living organisms from the Arctic regions.

Present status: Chlordane fabrication is forbidden; its trade and use is allowed with special exceptions in the countries having ratified the Stockholm Convention of 2001.

In Romania: this substance was used as pesticide, and it has been banned since 2004, according to the third country report for Romania issued by the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention (2014).

Health effects: Irritating and toxic by ingestion, inhalation or absorption through the skin; toxic effects are cumulative. When heated, it decomposes into toxic fumes of carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, chlorine, and phosgene.

• Acute effects: blurred vision, confusion, ataxia, delirium, cough, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, irritability, tremor, convulsions, anuria. In animals it is toxic for the lungs, the liver and the kidneys.
• Chronic effects: toxic for the nervous system, with symptoms such as memory losses and motor function impairment. It causes development problems in children, including autism in mothers occupationally exposed to chlordane. On long term were recorded diabetes, insulin resistance, headaches, respiratory infections, allergies, anxiety, blurred vision, confusion, muscle twitching and permanent neurological damage.
• Target organs: eyes, nervous system, kidneys, lungs, liver. Carcinogenic for animals (liver cancer) and probable occupational carcinogen for humans (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukaemia, multiple myeloma, testis cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and brain tumours).

Exposure limits, lethal dose: 0.5 mg/m3 (skin contact), deadly at 100 mg/m3 (inhaled or through skin contact).

Contamination sources:

• Occupational: People employed in agriculture (insecticide treatments) are the most exposed, if they use chlordane and its derivatives (due to inhalation and skin contact contamination).
• Food: Animal products (dairy, butter, meat) by bioaccumulation, in case that animals were fed fodder or oilseed cake from chlordane treated crops. The fish harvested from irrigation channels and rivers from the areas where chlordane is used for treating crops (it can accumulate in fish in concentrations up to 37 800 times the water concentration - thus the fish becomes toxic for consumption, even if the chlordane concentration in water was not toxic or even detectable).
• Air: following wood treatment for termites and after household fumigations (main chlordane contamination source in USA and Japan).

Useful links:

• Clordan (EN)
• POP - National Environmental Protection Agency (RO)