Other organochlorines may serve as hormones. Plants such as lentil and sweet pea use 4-chloroindoleacetic acid as a growth hormone, and a Chinese folk medicine plant contains five natural chlorinated compounds. Recently, a tiny Ecuadoran frog was found to secrete a chlorinated alkaloid, which is 500 times more powerful than morphine as a pain-killer and which is believed to thwart predators such as birds. It is only a matter of time before many natural organochlorine compounds are found in humans. An astonishing research development is the discovery that our immune system actually uses chlorine, bromine and iodine to halogenate and kill invading microorganisms.
Chlorination is apparently as natural a biological process as blood clotting or salivation.
Part of Nature's Recycling Process Nature is an incredible recycling center. Insects, microorganisms and fungi all conspire to break down dead matter to simpler chemicals for reuse. One such organism, the white-rot fungus, decomposes dead trees and other forest plant material. Five million tons of this chemical are produced naturally every year. This amount dwarfs the 26 thousand tons produced annually by man.