Hexachlorobenzene environmental data

Erickson, M.D., Evaluation of Analytical Methods and Data for Hexachlorobenzene in Human Adipose Tissue, Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Missouri. Draft Report. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., Contract No. 68-02-3938,... 

The third consideration in our answers to the questions, "How is it that man-made chemicals are found in our bodies and in even remote parts of our planet " and "Does it matter " is our ability to understand the consequences of our risk-management decisions after they are made and to use that information appropriately. We often lack the data to assess the results of taking action. Sometimes the data suggest that the results may not be as intended. The intended consequence of banning the production and trade of hexachlorobenzene starting nearly 30 years ago, for example, was to reduce the risk from environmental contamination. Monitoring data indicate that environmental concentrations in many areas are decreasing. 

Laboratory studies have shown that sediments accumulated (332 ixg kg ) hexachlorobenzene from water (8.3 )ug L ) with a concentration factor of 40 (Laseter et al., 1976). Depuration was relatively long, exceeding that of the biota. Laska etal. (1976) showed that the concentration of hexachlorobenzene in the vicinity of an industrialized zone bordering the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans was 80 times greater in the soil adjacent to the river than in the water. This was due to the suspended and dissolved load in the river water. No specifrc environmental sorption data are available on other monocyclic aromatic compounds. 

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