Heptachlor (C10H5Cl7)

1,4,5,6,7,8,8-heptachloro-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-methanoindene

CAS Number

76-44-8

Properties

• white to brown crystals or wax
• smells like camphor
• is a persistent organic pollutant
  

Main sources

• agriculture: insecticide used against soil insects, termites, plant pests (death upon contact or consumption of the insecticide by animals)
• malaria control
  

Thresholds for the reporting requirement of facilities in accordance with Annex 2 PRTRO

(Ordinance on the Register relating to Pollutant Release and the Transfer of Waste and of Pollutants in Waste Water)

• Air               1 kg/year
• Water          1 kg/year
• Soil              1 kg/year

Impacts

• suspected carcinogenic effect
• severe irritation of the central nervous system
• liver damage
• slow decomposition (soil half-life of up to two years)
  

Measures

• banned since the Stockholm Convention came into force in 2004