DISTRIBUTION OF HEXACHLOROBENZENE AND HEXACHLOROBUTADIENE IN WATER, SOIL, AND SELECTED AQUATIC ORGANISMS ALONG LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER, LOUISIANA

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a fungicide and by-product of the chemical industry which has been reported in domestic and wild animals including sheep, chickens, terns, fish and several other organisms, including man. This compound has also been found in samples of ocean water and its persistence in the environment has been acknowledged. Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), another chlorinated compound is often found in association with HCB as an industrial by-product. This report presents data resulting from gas chromatograhpic (GC) analysis of HCB and HCBD residues extracted from field samples of water, soil, and selected aquatic organisms taken at intervals along a 150-mile transect of the man-made levees of the Mississippi River, from Baton Rouge to Port Sulphur, Louisiana.