Hexachlorocyclohexane or the abbreviation HCH is identified as a monocyclic chlorinated hydrocarbon. HCH was discovered in 1825by Faraday, who just had discovered benzene. By reacting benzene with chlorine in bright sunlight, formation of HCH was observed. Neither Faraday nor the Dutch chemist Van der Linden, who in 1912 isolated the pure -isomer from a HCH mixture, realized the insecticidal p...

In the last few decades, highly toxic organic compounds like the organochlorine pesticide (OP) hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) have been released into the environment. All HCH isomers are acutely toxic to mammals. Although nowadays its use is restricted or completely banned in most countries, it continues posing serious environmental and health concerns. Since HCH toxicity is well known, it is impe...

γ-Hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) is a man-made chlorinated insecticide that has caused serious environmental problems. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the γ-HCH-degrading bacterium Sphingomonas sp. strain MM-1, which consists of one chromosome and five plasmids. All the specific lin genes that are almost identical to those of Sphingobium japonicum UT26 for the conversion of γ-HCH...

Organochlorines are persistent lipophilic compounds that accumulate in Inuit people living in circumpolar countries. Organochlorines accumulate as a result of the Inuits' large consumption of sea mammal fat; however, available data are limited to blood lipids, milk fat, and adipose tissue. We report results of organochlorine determination in liver, brain, omental fat, and subcutaneous abdominal...

BACKGROUND Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and other organochlorines suppress immunity biomarkers in animals and humans. Our aim was to study the association between prenatal levels of DDE and lower respiratory tract infection in infants independently from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other organochlorines. METHODS Maternal levels of p'p'-DDE, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p...