Global Distribution of Persistent Organochlorine Compounds

Abstract

The global distribution of 22 potentially harmful organochlorine compounds was investigated in more than 200 tree bark samples from 90 sites worldwide. High concentrations of organochlorines were found not only in some developing countries but also in industrialized countries, which continue to be highly contaminated even though the use of many of these compounds is restricted. The distribution of relatively volatile organochlorine compounds (such as hexachlorobenzene) is dependent on latitude and demonstrates the global distillation effect, whereas less volatile organochlorine compounds (such as endosulfan) are not as effectively distilled and tend to remain in the region of use.