Chlordecone

IUPAC name Dodecachloropentacyclodecane Molecular formula C10CI12 

Uses Mirex is used in North America and in the southeastern United States for the control of fire and ants. Mirex is also effective against the hamster ant, the yellow-jacket, the Texas leaf-cutting ant, and the Hawaiian mealy bug. A ban on the use of mirex for pest control with exemptions was brought in on June 30, 1978. It has its use as a fire retardant in plastics, rubber, paint, paper, and electrical goods from 1959 to 1972 due to its high melting point and high chemical stability.14,48 

Chlordecone was used as an insecticide on tobacco, ornamental shrubs, bananas, and citrus trees, and in ant and roach traps. Mirex was sold as a flame 

The greatest concentration of mirex in the environment was found in Lake Ontario, Canada, where several factories dumped effluent containing mirex. Almost all of the mirex in North America was produced by the Hooker Chemical and Plastics Company of Niagara Falls, New York. A Canadian study found that although effluent runoff was isolated to Lake Ontario, mirex was found in sediment and fish samples from each of the Great Lakes 48a,48b This raises the question of how mirex is being transported upstream from Lake Ontario.54-56 

---

Aldrin, chlordecone (Kepone), 2,4-D, DDT and metabolites, dieldrin, endosulfan, endrin, f]- and y-HCH (lindane), linuron, methoxychlor, mirex... 

Environmental estrogens estrogen receptor mediated Chlordecone... 

III. Via newly formed pores maitotoxm, amphotericin B, chlordecone,... 

Compounds that affect activities of hepatic microsomal enzymes can antagonize the effects of methyl parathion, presumably by decreasing metabolism of methyl parathion to methyl paraoxon or enhancing degradation to relatively nontoxic metabolites. For example, pretreatment with phenobarbital protected rats from methyl parathion s cholinergic effects (Murphy 1980) and reduced inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity in the rat brain (Tvede et al. 1989). Phenobarbital pretreatment prevented lethality from methyl parathion in mice compared to saline-pretreated controls (Sultatos 1987). Pretreatment of rats with two other pesticides, chlordecone or mirex, also reduced inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase activity in rats dosed with methyl parathion (2.5 mg/kg intraperitoneally), while pretreatment with the herbicide linuron decreased acetylcholine brain levels below those found with methyl parathion treatment alone (Tvede et al. 1989). 

Tvede KG, Loft S, Poulsen HE, et al. 1989. Methyl parathion toxicity in rats is changed by pretreatment with the pesticides chlordecone, mirex and linuron. Arch Toxicol Suppl 13 446-447. 

The selection of these compounds was made on the grounds of their toxicity, environmental stability, and tendency to undergo biomagnification the intention was to move toward their removal from the natural environment. In the REACH proposals of the European Commission (EC published in 2003), a similar list of 12 POPs was drawn up, the only differences being the inclusion of hexachlorobiphenyl and chlordecone, and the exclusion of the by-products, dioxins, and furans. The objective of the EC directive is to ban the manufacture or marketing of these substances. It is interesting that no fewer than eight of these compounds, which are featured on both lists, are insecticides. 

Donohoe, R.M. and Curtis, L.R. (1996). Estrogenic activity of chlordecone, o,p -DDT and o,p -DDE in juvenile rainbow trout Induction of vitellogenesis and interaction with hepatic estrogen binding sites. Aquatic Toxicology 36, 31-52. 

Eroschenko, V.P. (1981). Estrogenic activity of the insecticide chlordecone in the reproductive-tract of birds and mammals. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 8, 731-742. 

Maier WE, Costa LG. 1990. Sodium, potassium-ATPase in rat brain and erythrocytes as a possible target and marker, respectively, for neurotoxicity studies with chlordecone, organotins and mercury compounds. Toxicol Lett 51 175-188. 

Fujimori, K., I.K. Ho, H.M. Mehendale, and D.C. Villeneuve. 1983. Comparative toxicology of mirex, photomirex and chlordecone after oral administration to the mouse. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2 49-60. 

U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). 1995. Toxicological Profile for Mirex and Chlordecone. U.S. Dept. 

Donohoe, R.M., Q. Zhang, L.K. Siddens, J.D. Hendricks, and L.R. Curtis. 1998. Modulation of 7,12-dime-thylbenz[a] anthracene disposition and hepatocarcinogenesis by dieldrin and chlordecone in rainbow trout. Jour. Toxicol. Environ. Health 54A 227-242. 

A peer review panel was assembled for mirex and chlordecone. The panel consisted of the following members ... 

These experts collectively have knowledge of mirex and chlordecone s physical and chemical properties, toxicokinetics, key health and points, mechanisms of action, human and animal exposure, and quantification of risk to humans. All reviewers were selected in conformity with the conditions for peer review specified in Section 104(i) (13) of the Comprehensive Encironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended. 

Biomarkers Used to Identify or Quantify Exposure to Mirex or Chlordecone... 

Existing Information on Health Effects of Mirex and Chlordecone... 

Levels of Significant Exposure to Mirex - Oral 2-2 Levels of Significant Exposure to Chlordecone - Oral 2-3 Proposed Metabolic Pathways for Chlordecone 2-4 Existing Information on Health Effects of Mirex 2-5 Existing Information on Health effects of Chlordecone 5-1 Frequency of NPL Sites with Mirex Contamination ... 

Analytical Methods for Determining Chlordecone in Biological Samples... 

This statement was prepared to give you information about mirex and chlordecone and to emphasize the human health effects that may result from exposure to them. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,408 hazardous waste sites as the most serious in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term federal clean-up activities. Mirex has been found in at least 7 of the sites on the NPL. Chlordecone has been found at 2 of the sites on the NPL. However, neither mirex or chlordecone are on EPA s list of target chemicals and the number of NPL sites evaluated for mirex and chlordecone is not known. As EPA evaluates more sites, the number of sites at which mirex and chlordecone are found may increase. This information is important because exposure to mirex and chlordecone may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are potential or actual sources of human exposure to mirex and chlordecone. 

---