Technical hexachlorocyclohexane use trends in China and their impact on the environment

Trends in production of technical HCH (BHC: 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane) in China have been surveyed from 1952 to 1983, when the Chinese government banned the use of this pesticide. While the total 4.46 million metric tons produced during this period make China by far the biggest producer and user of technical HCH, Japan consumed the largest accumulated average amount of this insecticide over arable land (84 t/kha for Japan versus 44 t/kha for China). The relationship between technical HCH production/usage trends and their impact on the environment has been studied. The similarity between total HCH isomer concentrations in Chinese environmental compartments in the beginning of 1980s and those in Japanese in the beginning of 1970s indicates the linkage between the average accumulated usage of technical HCH and the magnitude of contamination in the environment by this organochlorine insecticide. According to data from a national monitoring program on food contamination by organochlorine pesticides, residues of total HCH in foodstuffs in China decreased by about five times in rice, 127 times in fish, 32 times in poultry eggs, and 32 times in meat between 1978 and 1992.