Gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane toxicity

Abel, P.D. Toxicity of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (lindane) to Gammaruspulex. mortality in relation to concentration and duration of exposure. Freshwater Biol, 10 251-259,1980. 

Lindane (gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane) is one of the last of the old style organochlorine pesticides still in use. Use of organochlorines such as DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, and toxaphene is restricted or banned in many countries because of their persistence in the environment, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. Lindane was first isolated in 1825 along with other similar compounds, but its deadly effects on insects were not recognized until the 1940s. 

Chlorination of benzene gives an addition product that is a mixture of stereoisomers known collectively as hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH). At one time, this was incorrectly termed benzene hexachloride. The mixtnre has insecticidal activity, though activity was found to reside in only one isomer, the so-called gamma isomer, y-HCH. y-HCH, sometimes under its generic name lindane, has been a mainstay insecticide for many years, and is about the only example of the chlorinated hydrocarbons that has not been banned and is still available for general use. Although chlorinated hydrocarbons have proved very effective insecticides, they are not readily degraded in the environment, they accumulate and persist in animal tissues, and have proved toxic to many bird and animal species. 

Agency for Toxic substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Toxicologcal Profile for Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, and Delta-Hexachlorocyclohexane, pp 1-274. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1999... 

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