Degradation of p, p′-DDT in Reducing Environments

p , p ′-DDD ( p , p ′-TDE; 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis ( p -chlorophenyl) ethane) is an extremely persistent environmental contaminant 1 ; it is a well known insecticide but is also derived from p , p ′-DDT (1,1,1 -trichloro-2,2-bis ( p -chlorophenyl) ethane) in the environment by a process of reductive dechlorination. The conversion of DDT to DDD has been observed in a wide variety of biological systems, both living and dead 2 . The mechanism by which this degradation of a highly chlorinated molecule takes place in the environment is of considerable interest but has not been clearly established 3,4 .