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Proposed Structure of Toxaphene |
| Diagram from "Toxaphene" By Siobhan Burland |
| The exact structure of toxaphene is not known, but its chemical formula has been listed as C10 H10 Cl8 (Burland). Toxaphene is a manufactured insecticide that contains over 670 Chemicals (ATSDR, 2001). |
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Toxaphene, one of the heaviest used insecticides in the U.S., has been used to control insect pests on crops and livestock and to kill unwanted fish in lakes (ATSDR, 2001). Cumulative world use from 1946 to 1974 was more than 409,000 metric tons (O'Shea, 1999). The United States ceased using toxaphene in 1982, but it is still used in many other countries (O'Shea, 1999). For example, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico use it in banana and pineapple cultivation (Burland). |
| Once Toxaphene is added to the environment by human action, it can then enter the air, water and soil. It can enter the air by evaporation, the water through runoff, and the soil by sticking to soil particles (ATSDR, 2001). The most likely route of entry for toxaphene into the environment is evaporation from soils (GPA). Although toxaphene can be in water, it does not dissolve well so it is more likely to be found in air, soil, or sediments underwater (ATSDR, 2001). Once the toxaphene is introduced into the environment it remains there for a long time due to its very slow break down time (ATSDR, 2001). Toxaphene has a half-life as long as twelve years once in the soil (GPA). |
| Toxaphene can be
spread through the environment by atmospheric transport and is found in
low concentrations in tissues of marine mammals in remote areas were it
has never been used, such as the artic (O'Shea, 1999). |
| Toxaphene Biomagnification - Arctic Canada
Compartment Concentration (Net weight) |
Source
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| Air 1 .0007 ppb Snow 1 .0009 - .002 ppb Seawater 1 .0003 ppb |
Bidleman, 1989 |
| Zooplankton 2 3.6 ppb Arctic cod muscle 2 14 - 46 ppb Arctic char whole body 2 44 - 157 ppb |
Hargrave, 1993 |
| Ringed seal blubber 2 130 - 480 ppb Beluga blubber 2 1380 - 5780 ppb Narwhal blubber 2 2440 - 9160 ppb Bioaccumulation, biomagnification and trophic levels are critical factors in biotic tissue concentration of POPs |
Hargrave, 1993 |
| Chart information compiled by Lars-Otto Reiersen |
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The Beluga Whale |