DDT and Other Organohalogen Pesticides in Aquatic Organisms

Authors

Nancy Beckvar, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Guilherme R. Lotufo, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2011

Citation

Published in Environmental Contaminants in Biota: Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, 2nd edition, ed. W. Nelson Beyer & James P. Meador (Boca Raton: CRC, 2011).

Comments

U.S. Government Work

Abstract

Organohalogen (OH) compounds are persistent hydrocarbon compounds containing a halogen group, often chlorine or bromine, that substitutes for hydrogen atoms in different positions in the hydrocarbon. They may occur naturally, but this chapter's focus is on synthetically produced compounds, mainly organochlorines, that were produced for use as pesticides. Nine OH compounds (aldrin, chlordane, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT], dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, and toxaphene) are in the top 12 list of particularly toxic and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) identified by the Stockholm Convention treaty implemented in 2004 under the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). More than 90 countries have signed on to this treaty as Parties. These chemicals became classified as POPs because they may remain in the environment for decades following their use, they accumulate in fatty tissues of exposed organisms, they have a variety of toxic endpoints, and they travel long distances from source areas through atmospheric or aqueous transport.