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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Lindane

[1,2,3,4,5,6-Hexachlorocyclohexane]

= Benzene hexachloride

Chemical formula

C6H6Cl6

Alpha-BHC

Chemical characteristics

Octanol-water partition coefficient log Kow 3.8. (ref. ID; 6961)

Test organisms

Oligochaeta: Community (ref. ID; 6961)

Lindane

Trade name

Lindane (J, I, B): BHC (J Date registered 2/24/1949, Date registration annulled 11/27/1971, Date marketing stopped 12/30/1971), Gammexane, HCH, Lindafor flo, Lindex

Chemical characteristics

Lipophilicity Kow 3.6 (Rippen, 1991).
Octanol-water partition coefficient log Kow 3.7. (ref. ID; 6961)
Hydrophobicity Log Kow 3.85. (ref. ID; 6984)

Purpose for use

Organochlorine insecticide.

Mode of action

It is a GABA-gated chloride channel antagonists, acting as a central nervous system stimulant and also an inducer of DNA fragmentation. (ref. ID; 6754)

Toxicity

LD50 (oral): rat (male) 88 mg/kg, (female) 91 mg/kg.
According to Austrian standards, lindane belongs to toxicity class 3, "moderately toxic to warm-blooded organisms". It acts as inhalation, ingestion, or contact poison. The LD50 in rats (oral) amounts to 88-225 mg kg-1 and (dermal) 500 mg kg-1 body weight. Lindane is rather persistent. In the laboratory, 50% degradation occurs within 600 days (Laskowski et al. 1983) (ref. ID; 6768)

Test organisms

Green algae (formerly including protozoa): Chlamydomonas reinhardi (ref. ID; 1319)
Protozoa: Colpidium campylum (ref. ID; 6784)
Protozoa: Spirostomum teres (ref. ID; 6838)
Protozoa: Tetrahymena pyriformis (ref. ID; 1319, 3554, 6098)
Rotifera: Brachionus calyciflorus (ref. ID; 127, 128, 510, 1317, 1666)
Rotifera: Brachionus plicatilis (ref. ID; 128)
Oligochaeta: Aporrectodea longa (ref. ID; 6137)
Oligochaeta: Enchytraeus albidus (ref. ID; 6754, 6816, 6984)
Oligochaeta: Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (ref. ID; 3110, 6670)
Oligochaeta: Lumbricus terrestris (ref. ID; 6904)
Oligochaeta: Tubifex tubifex (ref. ID; 3110, 6636, 6670)
Oligochaeta: Community (ref. ID; 6961)
Nematoda: Caenorhabditis elegans (ref. ID; 7009)
Microcosms: Zooplankton, Phytoplankton, and Periphyton (ref. ID; 4448, 6752)
Mesocosms: Zooplankton community (ref. ID; 6105)
Soil microfauna (ref. ID; 6768)