Chemical Properties
off-white solid
Physical properties
Colorless to white, odorless crystals when pure; technical grades are tan to dark brown with a
mild, characteristic chemical odor. The odor threshold concentration in water is 17 μg/kg
(Sigworth, 1964).
Uses
Formerly as insecticide and fumigant; manufacture and use has been discontinued
in the U.S
Uses
Aldrin has been used as an insecticide for soil insects and the
control of termites around buildings. Industrial exposures
occur among groups that have been involved in the manufacture
of aldrin, and in the handling and spraying of suspensions
and emulsions of this compound.
Definition
ChEBI: An organochlorine compound resulting from the Diels-Alder reaction of hexachlorocyclopentadiene with norbornadiene. It was widely used as an insecticide before being banned in the 1970s as a persistent organic pollutant.
General Description
Aldrin, cast solid is a brown to white solid. If the large pieces are broken up or powdered, ALDRIN is toxic by inhalation and skin absorption. ALDRIN is insoluble in water and noncombustible. ALDRIN is used as an insecticide.
Air & Water Reactions
Insoluble in water.
Reactivity Profile
ALDRIN may be sensitive to prolonged exposure to light. ALDRIN is stable to heat and in the presence of inorganic and organic bases. ALDRIN is stable to hydrated metal chlorides and mild acids. ALDRIN is thermally stable up to 392° F and ALDRIN is stable between pH 4 and 8. ALDRIN reacts with concentrated acids and phenols in the presence of oxidizing agents. ALDRIN can be corrosive to metals. ALDRIN can react with acid catalysts, acid oxidizing agents and active metals.
Hazard
Toxic by skin absorption. Central nervous
system impairment, and liver and kidney damage.
Questionable carcinogen.
Health Hazard
Poisoning by aldrin usually involves convulsions due to its effects on the central nervous system. Reproductive effects and liver effects have also been reported. It is classified as an extremely toxic chemical. Probable oral lethal dose for humans is between 7 drops and one oz. for a 150 lb. adult human. Conflicting reports of carcinogenicity of ALDRIN remain an area of controversy. Similar chemically and toxicologically to dieldrin.
Health Hazard
Highly toxic to humans and animals by allroutes of exposure; absorbed through skin aswell; toxic symptoms — headache, dizziness,nausea, vomiting, tremor, ataxia, convulsions, central nervous system depression, andrespiratory failure; also causes renal damage; oral LD50 value 30–100 mg/kg in mosttest animals metabolizes to dieldrin; oraladministration in rats and mice increased theincidence of liver and lung cancer, carcinogenicity: animal and human evidence inadequate; exposure limit 0.25 mg/m
3 (skin)(ACGIH); RCRA Waste Number P004.
Fire Hazard
When heated to decomposition, ALDRIN emits toxic fumes of chlorine containing compounds. Commercial solutions may contain flammable or combustible liquids. The dry powder will not burn. Container may explode in heat of fire. Avoid concentrated mineral acids, acid catalysts, acid oxidizing agents, phenols, or active metals.
Safety Profile
Suspected carcinogen with experimental carcinogenic, neoplastigenic, and tumorigenic data. Poison by ingestion, skin contact, intravenous, and intraperitoneal routes. Human systemic effects by ingestion: excitement, tremors, and nausea or vomiting. An experimental teratogen. Other experimental reproductive effects. Continued acute exposure causes liver damage. Human mutation data reported. See also CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of Cl-.
Carcinogenicity
Rodent carcinogenicity evaluations
of aldrin have been extensively reviewed, with
the conclusion that the mouse-specific hepatocarcinogenic
activity of aldrin occurs through a nongenotoxic mode of
action involving promotion of spontaneously initiated liver
cells.
Environmental Fate
Biological. Dieldrin is the major metabolite formed from the microbial degradation of
aldrin via epoxidation (Lichtenstein and Schulz, 1959; Korte et al., 1962; Kearney and
Kaufman, 1976). Microorganisms responsible for this reaction were identified as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium notatum (Korte et
al., 1962). Dieldrin may further degrade to photodieldrin (Kearney and Kaufman, 1976).
A pure culture of the marine alga namely Dunaliella sp. degraded aldrin to dieldrin andthe diol at yields of 23.2 and 5.2%, respectively (Patil et al., 1972). In four successive 7-
day incubation periods, aldrin (5 and 10 mg/L) was recalcitrant to degradation in a settled
domestic wastewater inoculum (Tabak et al., 1981). In a mixed microbial population under
anaerobic conditions, nearly all aldrin (87%) degraded to two unidentified products in 4
days (Maule et al., 1987)
Soil. Patil and Matsumura (1970) reported 13 of 20 soil microorganisms were able to
degrade aldrin to dieldrin under laboratory conditions. Harris and Lichtenstein (1961)
studied the volatilization of aldrin (4 ppm) in Plainfield sand and quartz
Aldrin was found to be very persistent in an agricultural soil. Fifteen years after
application of aldrin (20 lb/acre), 5.8% of the applied dosage was recovered as dieldrin
and 0.2% was recovered as photodieldrin (Lichtenstein et al., 1971).
Plant. Photoaldrin and photodieldrin formed when aldrin was codeposited on bean
leaves and exposed to sunlight (Ivie and Casida, 1971). Dieldrin and 1,2,3,4,7,8-hexachloro-1,4,4a,6,7,7a-hexahydro-1,4-endo-methyleneindene-5,7-dicarboxylic acid were
identified in aldrin-treated soil on which potatoes were grown (Klein et al., 1973)
Surface Water. Under oceanic conditions, aldrin may undergo dihydroxylation at the
chlorine free double bond to produce aldrin diol (Verschueren, 1983). When raw water
obtained from the Little Miami River in Ohio containing aldrin (10 μg/L) was p
Solubility in organics
50 g/L in alcohol at 25 °C (quoted, Meites, 1963); very soluble (>600 mg/L) in acetone, benzene,
xylenes (Worthing and Hance, 1991), and many chlorinated hydrocarbons such as chloroform,
carbon tetrachloride, etc.
Solubility in water
50 g/L in alcohol at 25 °C (quoted, Meites, 1963); very soluble (>600 mg/L) in acetone, benzene,
xylenes (Worthing and Hance, 1991), and many chlorinated hydrocarbons such as chloroform,
carbon tetrachloride, etc.
Toxicity evaluation
Consistent with its intended use on insects in soil, aldrin is not
very water soluble. It binds to sediment, but rarely leaches into
deeper soil layers and groundwater. Aldrin is volatile and
readily degrades to dieldrin in the environment. When aldrin is
applied to silty loam soil, the amount detectable in 1.7 years
will have declined by 25% of the amount applied. Aldrin is
estimated to have a half-life in soil of 1.5–5.2 years, depending
on the composition of the soil.
Persistence is defined in terms of the half-life of a substance
in the soil. For aldrin, this has been determined to be 2–15
years. Aldrin is largely converted via biological or abiotic
mechanisms to dieldrin, which is significantly more persistent.
Both aldrin and dieldrin are absorbed into the food
chain. Residues may remain in the soil for a long period, if
contaminated plant and animal materials are added to the
topsoil. Aldrin and dieldrin are retained in the fatty materials
of sewage sludge, and in fish emulsions used as fertilizers.
Topical soil application of these materials makes these
compounds available to grazing animals, which ingest some
soil when they crop grass. Aldrin may be volatilized from
sediment, and redistributed by air currents, contaminating
distant areas. Nationally, levels of aldrin have declined since
agricultural uses were discontinued.
