Organochloride pesticides are very effective at eliminating pests, especially insects. But many of these chemical products are viewed negatively by environmental activists and consumers because of one well-known and now banned organochloride pesticide: dichloro diphenyl trichoroethane, better known as DDT.
Organochloride pesticides refer to chemicals with carbon, chlorine and hydrogen components. As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explained, chlorine-carbon bonds are particularly strong, which keeps these chemicals from breaking down quickly or being soluble in water. The chemical is also attracted to fat and is stored in the fatty tissue of animals that consume it. The durability of organochloride pesticides' chemical makeup is one of the reasons it is so effective as an insecticide as well as potentially harmful – it can protect crops for a long time, but also stay in an animal's system.
Along with DDT, other organochloride pesticides, such as aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, mirex, chlordecone and chlordane, have been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Europe has similarly banned many organochloride pesticides, but in both of these regions organochloride chemicals are still the active ingredients in a number of home, garden and environmental pest control products, according to the EPA. Organochloride pesticides are also enormously popular in developing countries across the globe for agricultural uses.
Testing for organochloride pesticides
Whether examining farm land to see if it is still filled with years-old organochloride pesticides or inspecting water for organochlorines, testing is the best way to know if you have these chemicals near you. EPA methods 8250A and 8270B can be used to test for these chemicals. 8250A can test waste, soil and water, while 8270B uses gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).
Although organochloride pesticides are most famous for damaging some birds' abilities to lay healthy eggs, these chemicals have been known to negatively affect humans who consume or breathe in pesticides. Accidental inhalation or consumption of a contaminated fish or animal tissue are the most likely ways to ingest organochloride pesticides. To confirm that someone is poisoned by a organochloride pesticide, blood or urine is typically sent to a university or government facility that uses GC/MS to test for the chemical compounds.
Warning signs of organochloride pesticide toxicity include seizures, hallucinations, coughing, skin rash, vomiting, abdominal pain, headaches, confusion and possibly respiratory failure, according to Matthew Wong, M.D., M.P.H., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, on Medscape. Although there are bans in the U.S. and Europe on many of these pesticides, their use in other parts of the world and storage in parts of the U.S. and Europe create situations where poisonings are still possible.
Organochloride pesticides encompass a large number of durable chemicals that are both effective and carry a fair amount of risk across the globe.
