Biodegradation chemical transformations aerobic

Mirex is a very persistent compound in the environment and is highly resistant to both chemical and biological degradation. The primary process for the degradation of mirex is photolysis in water or on soil surfaces photomirex is the major transformation product of photolysis. In soil or sediments, anaerobic biodegradation is also a major removal mechanism whereby mirex is slowly dechlorinated to the 10-monohydro derivative. Aerobic biodegradation on soil is a very slow and minor degradation process. Twelve years after the application of mirex to soil, 50% of the mirex and mirex-related compounds remained on the soil. Between 65--73% of the residues recovered were mirex and 3-6% were chlordecone, a transformation product (Carlson et al. 1976). 

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