HIGHLY CHLORINATED DIMETHANOFLUORENES IN TECHNICAL CHLORDANE AND IN HUMAN ADIPOSE-TISSUE

Several new components of technical chlordane were discovered using electron capture, negative ionization gas chromatographic mass spectrometry. These compounds have 10-12 chlorines and are produced by the condensation of three cyclopentadiene molecules. The most abundant compound has a molecular weight of 606 and has the elemental composition C15H6Cl12. This compound and a series of related compounds were also identified as contaminants in human adipose tissue samples. These compounds are approximately 0.01-0.03% of the technical chlordane mixture, and they have average concentrations in human adipose tissue of 0.4-0.7 ng per gram of fat. They are more highly retained in human adipose tissue than chlordane-like compounds containing eight or fewer chlorine atoms. © 1990 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.