Chlordane

The active ingredient is no longer contained in any registered products ... cancelled.

Fumigant, acaricide (former use).

Outside U.S.: Formulations available internationally for termite control and wood treatment.

Chlordane was used as a pesticide in the United States from 1948 to 1988. In 1988, all approved uses of chlordane in the United States were canceled. From 1983 to 1988, chlordane's only approved use was to control termites in homes. The pesticide was applied underground around the foundation of homes. Before 1978, chlordane was also used as a pesticide on agricultural crops, lawns, and gardens and as a fumigating agent. In 1978, EPA canceled the use of chlordane on food crops and phased out other above- ground uses over the following 5 years.

Use classes: Pesticides, Insecticides.

The feed materials for chlordane manufacture are hexachlorocyclopentadiene and cyclopentadiene which react according to the Diels-Alder condensation ... which produces a material known as chlordene which is subjected to addition chlorination by one molecule of chlorine to give chlordane.

Hexachlorocyclopentadiene (by chlorination of pentanes) or by action of sodium hydrochlorite on cyclopentadiene, is condensed with cyclopentadiene to produce chlordene which is further chlorinated.

Chlordane is made by chlorinating hexachlorodicyclopentadiene (chlordene) to form two isomers of 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,8-octachloro-2,3,3a,4,7,7a-hexahydro-4,7-methano-1H-indene, alpha-trans, mp 106.5 °C, and beta-cis, mp 104.5 °C. The beta-isomer has significantly greater insecticidal activity.