Persistence of chlordane applied to an intertidal sandflat

As part of a study on the effect of the organochlorine wood preservative, chlordane, on marine communities, the persistence and mobility of the chemical was studied, following a controlled application to an intertidal sandflat in Manukau harbour, N.Z. The most important process controlling the fate of chlordane residues was sediment transport, particularly from the top 2 cm. Physicochemical processes such as hydrolysis, dechlorination, and volatilization were relatively less important in this environment. The metabolite oxychlordane was not detected in any of the sediments.