| Compound Name |
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) |
| Stockholm Annex code | I, III, IV |
| Key |
Annex I to the regulation are subject to prohibition (with specific exemptions) on manufacturing, placing on the market and use; Annex II to the regulation are subject to restriction on manufacturing, placing on the market and use; Annex III to the regulation are subject to release reduction provisions; and Annex IV to the regulation are subject to waste management provisions. Note that for some substances listed in Annex I, specific exemptions on the prohibition of their use, manufacturing and placing on the market may apply. |
| Classification |
Intentional manufacture |
| Category |
Listed under Annex A and Annex C |
| Year of Listing Decision |
2001 |
| Persistence |
The half life of hexachlorobenzene in soil is between 3 to 6 years. |
| Specific exemptions associated with its use |
Production: None |
| Acceptable purposes associated with its use |
Before it was banned it was used to make fireworks, ammunition, and synthetic rubber. It was also used as a fungicide to protect crops against fungi |
| Conventions on POPs |
Stockholm Convention Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Rotterdam Convention Basel Convention |
| Name |
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) |
| Synonyms |
Perchlorobenzene Anticarie Hexachlorbenzol Benzene, 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachloro- 1,2,3,4,5,6-Hexachloro-benzene Benzene, 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachloro- Benzenehexachloride Pentachlorophenyl chloride Sanocide Phenyl perchloryl |
| Structure | Cl)Cl)Cl)Cl)Cl.png)
Molecular Formula:
C6Cl6
|
| CAS Number | 118-74-1 |
| European Community (EC) Number | 204-273-9 |
| European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) | 204-273-9 |
| PubChem ID | 8370 |
| DSSTOX Substance ID | DTXSID2020682 |
| KEGG | C11042 |
| ChemSpider |
8067 |
| Similarity threshold | Name of Related Compound | DSSTox Substance ID | CAS Number | Molecular weight | Molecular formula |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene | DTXSID0021965 | 120-82-1 | 181 g/mol | C6H3Cl3 |
| 1.0 | 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene | DTXSID8026193 | 87-61-6 | 181 g/mol | C6H3Cl3 |
| 1.0 | 1,2,4-Trichloro(~2~H_3_)benzene | DTXSID90583993 | 2199-72-6 | 184 g/mol | C6D3Cl3 |
| 1.0 | 1,2,4,5-Tetrachlorobenzene | DTXSID7024320 | 95-94-3 | 215 g/mol | C6H2Cl4 |
| 1.0 | 1,2,3,4-Tetrachlorobenzene | DTXSID6026088 | 634-66-2 | 215 g/mol | C6H2Cl4 |
| 1.0 | 1,2,3,5-Tetrachlorobenzene | DTXSID1026089 | 634-90-2 | 215 g/mol | C6H2Cl4 |
| 1.0 | Pentachlorobenzene | DTXSID7024247 | 608-93-5 | 250 g/mol | C6HCl5 |
| 0.94 | 1,2-Dichlorobenzene | DTXSID6020430 | 95-50-1 | 147 g/mol | C6H4Cl2 |
| 0.94 | 1,2-Dichloro(~2~H_4_)benzene | DTXSID00944591 | 2199-69-1 | 151 g/mol | C6D4Cl2 |
| 0.94 | Lithium, (2,3,6-trichlorophenyl)- | DTXSID80436424 | 164347-56-2 | 187 g/mol | C6H2Cl3Li |
| N/A | Full List of similar compounds | N/A | N/A | N/A g/mol | N/A |
| Description | Reference | Article Link |
|---|---|---|
| Hexachlorobenzene was used widely as a pesticide to protect seeds of onions and sorghum, wheat, and other grains against fungus until 1965. It can be used with or without other seed treatments, fungicides and/or insecticides. It has fumigant action on fungal spores and is available as a dry seed treatment or slurry seed treatment. Not approved for use in EU countries. Has been banned from use in the United States. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an impurity in picloram. Not approved for use in EU countries. Not registered for use in the U.S. Currently there are more than 40 global suppliers. | Pohanish. 2015. H | Link |
| HCB was introduced as an agricultural pesticide in 1945 and was banned for agricultural purposes in the EU as of 1981. However, it is still used as an industrial chemical and is released to the environment by waste incineration. HCB is fairly volatile, highly lipophilic, and among the more persistent environmental pollutants. It is distributed globally by long-range transport and is bioaccumulated in lipid-rich tissues. HCB is ubiquitous in the environment, and fish products, particularly fish oils, generally have the highest concentrations of HCB. However, high levels have been found in plant products such as pumpkin seeds and in vegetable oils from contaminated areas. | Berntssen et al., 2012. Contamination of finfish with persistent organic pollutants and metals | Link |
| Hexachlorobenzene, or perchlorobenzene, is an organochloride with the molecular formula C6Cl6. It is a fungicide formerly used as a seed treatment, especially on wheat to control the fungal disease bunt. It has been banned globally under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutant | Wikipedia. Hexachlorobenzene. Accessed 13 October 2020 | Link |
| Hexachlorobenzene was widely used as a pesticide to protect the seeds of onions and sorghum, wheat, and other grains against fungus until 1965. It was also used to make fireworks, ammunition, and synthetic rubber. Currently, there are no commercial uses of hexachlorobenzene in the United States. Hexachlorobenzene is a white crystalline solid that is not very soluble in water. It does not occur naturally in the environment. It is formed as a by-product while making other chemicals, in the waste streams of chloralkali and wood-preserving plants, and when burning municipal waste. | Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - CDC. Accessed 13 October 2020 | Link |
| HCB or perchlorobenzene is a fungicide used as a seed treatment to control the fungal disease bunt. It was first introduced in 1945 to treat seeds and it kills fungi that affect food crops. It is a by-product of certain industrial chemicals and exists as an impurity in many pesticide formulations. In 1954 and 1959, it developed a variety of symptoms such as photosensitive skin lesions, colic, debilitation, porphyria turcica, etc. HCB can also be passed to infants through their mother’s breast milk | Thakur and Pathania. 2020. Environmental fate of organic pollutants and effect on human health. | Link |