RESUMO
Aldrin and dieldrin are organochlorine pesticides manufactured commercially since 1950 and once widely used to control many soil pests of agricultural importance. Dieldrin was also used in public health to control the vectors of some tropical diseases. Wide use was halted in the early 1970s, when evidence of environmental and health hazards prompted many governments to ban or severely restrict the use f these chemicals for agricultural purposes. Dieldrin continues to be used to protect wood and wood structures against attack by termites and wood borers, for the moth-proofing of textiles, and for locust control. This book reviews the vast body of data on aldrin and dieldrin in an effort to determine whether the continuing, though restricted, use of these chemicals poses a hazard to health or the environment. An effort is also made to determine whether previously high levels of use left persistent risks. Well over 900 studies are examined in order to unravel the complexities of the behaviour of these chemicals, resolve inconsistencies in reported results, and issue clear guidelines for the protection of human health and the environment. In view of the previous large-scale application to agricultural soil, almost a third of the book is devoted to the behaviour of these chemicals in the environment, their degradation, bioaccumulation, persistence over years, migration into foods, and presence in the bodies of infants, adults, and various wildlife and domestic species. Other sections consider effects on aquatic and terrestrial organisms and evaluate the extensive body of data from toxicological, clinical, and epidemiological investigations into the short- and long-term health effects of these highly toxic chemicals. On the basis of this evaluation, the report concludes that the presence of dieldrin in low concentrations in the human body and mothers milk, largely the result of dietary exposure, constitutes no health risk to the general population. The book further concludes that, in the interest of environmental protection, large-scale use of aldrin and dieldrin must not be resumed. Continued use for termite control of premises is regarded as acceptable provided these chemicals are handled and applied according to strict safety standards
