Featured this week
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), is a chlorocarbon with the molecular formula
C6Cl6. [1] It is a fully chlorinated industrial hydrocarbon chemical, which
is insoluble in water, but is very soluble in fat, oils, and organic solvents.
Hexachlorobenzene is one of the most persistent environmental
pollutants, and bioaccumulates in the environment, in animals, and
in humans. It is not currently manufactured as a commercial product
in the United States, and virtually all commercial production ended in
the late 1970s. However, some hexachlorobenzene is produced as a
by-product or impurity in the manufacture of chlorinated solvents and
other chlorinated compounds, including several pesticides currently
in use (pentachloronitrobenzene, chlorothalonil, Dacthal®, picloram,
pentachlorophenol, atrazine, simazine, and lindane). [2] HCB has been
banned globally under the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic
pollutants. [1]
