chlordane, a largely banned organochlorine insecticide. Chlordane is a thick, odourless, amber liquid with a molecular formula of C10H6Cl8. It is a contact insecticide and was used extensively in agriculture from the mid-1940s through the mid-’60s and was also used for termite treatment in buildings.
Chlordane is made by the chlorination of chlordene (hexachlorotetrahydromethanoindene), a cyclodiene having the molecular formula C10H6Cl6. The commercial insecticide contains 60 to 75 percent chlordane, a chlorinated cyclodiene that is the principal isomer formed in the preparation of the insecticide. The remainder consists of several compounds closely related to it, including heptachlor, which was also used as an insecticide.
Chlordane is highly toxic to many insects, and, as a class, the organochlorine compounds are considered less toxic to mammals than either the carbamate or organophosphate insecticides. But because chlordane is readily absorbed through the skin and can cause liver damage in laboratory animals, its use has been banned in many countries.