HCHs are one of the most widely used and most readily detected organochlorine pesticides in environmental samples. The relatively high volatility of HCH has led to global transport, even into formerly pristine locations such as the Arctic. Certain HCHs cause central nervous system, reproductive, and endocrine damage. A new area of HCH research focuses on the selective degradation of the two alpha-HCH enantiomers in various environmental matrices. These HCH issues and recommendations for future HCH research are presented in this review.
Pollution rides into the Arctic on the winds.
When winter's bone-chilling polar air masses reach south into the U.S., Europe and Asia, they do more than close schools and strand motorists. These weather fronts also collect toxic air pollution from industrial and urban centers and then transport these poisons north to the land of the great white bears. For example, the amount of PCBs falling from the Arctic sky in snow, rain and dust are comparable to amounts falling on the Great Lakes. A Review of Toxicity and Environmental Fate , documenting lindane s hazards and presence in the environment, food, wildlife and human tissues. The report highlights the particular vulnerability of the Arctic to lindane.