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Termiticide Use and Indoor Air Quality in the United States

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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 110))

Abstract

When the Velsicol Chemical Corporation agreed with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop producing chlordane and heptachlor for termite control after April 15, 1988, they recognized the concern regarding the use of organochlorine insecticides to protect buildings from termite damage. This concern regarding the potential effects on human health through the levels of termiticides in indoor air in dwellings previously treated with termiticides has continued to increase during the three decades that chlordane and heptachlor have been used for termite control. Technical chlordane is a cyclodiene mixture of at least 20 components, manufactured through the chlorination of the Diels-Alder product of hexachlorocyclopentadiene and cyclopentadiene. The major components of this reaction are cis- and trans-chlordane, trans-nonachlor, and heptachlor. If the reaction is conducted under more controlled conditions heptachlor is the main product.

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Savage, E.P. (1989). Termiticide Use and Indoor Air Quality in the United States. In: Ware, G.W. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 110. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7092-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7092-5_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-7094-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-7092-5

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