Chlordane

57-74-9

Insecticide, fungicide.

Colourless to amber. 
Viscous liquid.

Odourless.

Threshold odour concentration in water: 2.5 ppb
ion: 0.5 ppb (Verschueren 1983, Sigworth 1964).

409.76

Photooxidation half-life in air:
5.2hr - 51.7hr,
scientific judgement based upon an estimated rate constant for
vapor phase reaction with hydroxyl radicals in air
(Howard 1991).

First-order hydrolysis half-life: 
>197000yr,
scientific judgement based upon base rate constant
(4.3 x 10-3M-1hr-1) at pH 7 and 25°C (Howard 1991).

Base rate constant:
4.3 x 10-3 M-1 hr-1, based upon a rate constant at pH 9 and
25°C (Howard 1991).

Aerobic half-life: 
283d - 3.8yr,
scientific judgement based upon unacclimated aerobic river
die-away test data (Howard 1991).

Anaerobic half-life: 
1d - 7d,
scientific judgement based upon soil and freshwater mud grab
sample data for aldrin, dieldrin, endrin and heptachlor
epoxide (Howard 1991).

75 - 100 % disappearance from soils: 3 - 5 years 
(Verschueren 1983).

Persistence in river water in a sealed glass jar under
sunlight and artificial fluorescent light - initial
concentration 0.010 mg/l:
                % of original compound found
after     1 hr     1 wk    2 wk    4 wk    8 wk
          100      90      85      85      85
(Eichelberger & Lichtenberg 1971).

Confirmed to be accumulated on a high level (Anon. 1987).

Bioconcentration factor (mollusca): 7300, oyster (Verschueren 1983).

Bioconcentration factor (algae):
98000, Oedogonium, filamentous green algae 14cis:trans (75:25) chlordane 
(Verschueren 1983).
6000 - 15000, Scenedesmus, cis(alpha)-trans(gamma)chlordane 
(Glooschenko et al. 1979).

Bioconcentration factor (other): 108, Xenopus laevis, 5 ppb cis-chlordane 
(Khan et al. 1979).

In diet: rats fed for 104 weeks on a diet containing 15 ppm 
gamma-chlordane suffered no higher mortality than the controls 
but histopathological changes in the liver were apparent 
(Martin 1968).

Lethal dose to human 86 - 860 mg/kg (Virtanen & Nuuja 1987).

NCI carcinogenesis bioassay completed: results positive, mus;
results negative, rat (Lewis & Sweet 1984).

Pteronarcys californica: 96 hr, Lc50: 0.015 mg/l 
(Sanders & Cope 1968).

LC50, 1.440 mg/l, 48hr, static, Tanytarsus dissimilis 
(Holcombe et al. 1983).

Bacteria: oral Viridans streptococci: total inhibition at 3.0
ppm (Goes et al. 1978).

EC50 (24hr), 0.6 mg/l, rpd, Tetrahymena pyriformis. 

(Yoshioka et al. 1985).

0.0001 - 0.1 mg/l, stimulation of growth, Scenedesmus
quadricauda (Verschueren 1983).

Chlamydomonas sp. 
(soil alga):
0.0001 - 0.050 mg/l, stimulation of growth
0.100 mg/l inhibition of cell division (Verschueren 1983).

LC50, 1.25 mg/l, 96hr, static, Aplexa hypnorum
(Holcombe et al. 1983).

Technical chlordane consist of 60 to 75 % isomers of chlordane
and 25 to 40 % of related compounds including 2 isomers of
heptachlor and one each of enneachloro- and
decachlorodicyclopentadiene.

Two isomers of octachlorodicyclopentadiene have been isolated
from chlordane of which alpha-chlordane is the endo-cis an
beta-chlordane is the endo-trans isomer.

The commercial product known as gamma-chlordane is
substantially th alpha-isomer.

Technical chlordane is a mixture of 26 organochlorine compounds.

Approximate composition of technical chlordane:
cis(alpha)chlordane (C10H6Cl8)          * 19 %
trans(gamma)chlordane (C10H6Cl8)        * 24 %
chlordene (4 isomers) (C10H6Cl6)        * 21.5 %
heptachlor (C10H5Cl7)                   * 10 %
nonachlor (C10H5Cl9)                    * 7 %
(C10H7-8Cl6-7)                          * 8.5 %
hexachlorocyclopentadiene (C5Cl6)       * > 1 %
octachlorocyclopentadiene (C5Cl8)       * 1 %
Diels-Alder adduct of cyclopentadiene
and pentachlorocyclopentadiene
(C10H6Cl5)                              * 2 %
others                                  * 6 %
(Verschueren 1983).