Highly chlorinated dimethanofluorenes in technical chlordane and in human adipose tissue

AbstractSeveral new components of technical chlordane were discovered using electron capture, negative ionization gas chromatographic mass spectrometry. These compounds have 10–12 chlorines and are produced by the condensation of three cyclopentadiene molecules. The most abundant compound has a molecular weight of 606 and has the elemental composition C15H6Cl12. This compound and a series of related compounds were also identified as contaminants in human adipose tissue samples. These compounds are approximately 0.01–0.03% of the technical chlordane mixture, and they have average concentrations in human adipose tissue of 0.4–0.7 ng per gram of fat. They are more highly retained in human adipose tissue than chlordane-like compounds containing eight or fewer chlorine atoms

ES&T Guest Comment: Celebrating Bidleman’s 1988 “Atmospheric Processes”

Since its 1988 appearance in ES&T, Terry F. Bidleman’s article, “Atmospheric processes: wet and dry deposition of organic compounds are controlled by their vapor-particle partitioning”, has had a notable impact on the field of contaminant science. The paper has been cited in over 600 journal articles published by authors from every continent. Far from fading into obscurity, the paper’s influence has been remarkably consistent. Citations over the last year match the annual average attained since publication

Toward Identifying the Next Generation of Superfund and Hazardous Waste Site Contaminants

Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives."This commentary evolved from a workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences titled "Superfund Contaminants: The Next Generation" held in Tucson, Arizona, in August 2009. All the authors were workshop participants." doi:10.1289/ehp.1002497Our aim was to initiate a dynamic, adaptable process for identifying contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that are likely to be found in future hazardous waste sites, and to identify the gaps in primary research that cause uncertainty in determining future hazardous waste site contaminants. Superfund-relevant CECs can be characterized by specific attributes: they are persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, occur in large quantities, and have localized accumulation with a likelihood of exposure. Although still under development and incompletely applied, methods to quantify these attributes can assist in winnowing down the list of candidates from the universe of potential CECs. Unfortunately, significant research gaps exist in detection and quantification, environmental fate and transport, health and risk assessment, and site exploration and remediation for CECs. Addressing these gaps is prerequisite to a preventive approach to generating and managing hazardous waste sites.Support for the workshop, from which this article evolved, was provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program (P42-ES04940)

Elements of Enviromental Chemistry

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