gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane

1,2,3,4,5,6-Hexachlorocyclohexane (Gamma- Isomer)

COMMON NAME: GAMMA-BHC

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH, also known as benzene hexachloride, BHC) - This substance is a persistent and bioaccumlative organochlorine chemical. The pesticide Lindane is one purified isomeric form of this substance. Lindane has been shown to cause liver and lung damage, as well as certain types of cancer in animals. Chronic toxic effects may also include shortened life span, reproductive problems, lower fertility and changes in appearance or behavior. http://www.greenpeace.org/~toxics/toxfreeasia/press.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/campaigns/intro?campaign_id=3941

http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/toxics/

EFFECTS OF OVEREXPOSURE: HARMFUL IF INHALED. MAY BE FATAL IF SWALLOWED. CONTAINS MATERIAL(S) KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER. LOW BLOOD PRESSURE (HYPOTENSION). DERMATITIS. BREATHING DIFFICULTY. HEADACHE. NAUSEA. DIZZINESS. GASTROINTESTINAL DISTURBANCES. DEPRESSES CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. NARCOSIS. LIVER DAMAGE. KIDNEY DAMAGE. RESPIRATORY FAILURE. BLINDNESS. MAY CAUSE CORNEAL INJURY.

Excerpts from MSDS 

Potential Health Effects 
Eye: Causes eye irritation. May cause chemical conjunctivitis. 
Skin: Causes skin irritation. May be fatal if absorbed through the skin. 
Ingestion: Harmful if swallowed. May cause gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. May cause liver and kidney damage. Human fatalities have been reported from acute poisoning. Large doses may cause convulsions. May cause central nervous system stimulation.
 Inhalation: Causes respiratory tract irritation. May cause liver and kidney damage. Exposure may result in irritation, excitement, and convulsions. Can produce delayed pulmonary edema. May cause central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous system effects. 
Chronic: May cause liver and kidney damage. May cause cancer according to animal studies. May cause reproductive and fetal effects. Effects may be delayed.

Carcinogenicity: 
Lindane - ACGIH: A3 - Animal Carcinogen
California: carcinogen - initial date 10/1/87 NTP: Suspect carcinogen 
OSHA: Possible Select carcinogen 
IARC: Group 2B carcinogen (listed as ** undefined **). 
Epidemiology: 
Experimental reproductive, and teratogenic effects have been reported. Contains an ingredient on IARC as animal sufficient evidence. It contains an ingredient which may cause cancer based on animal data.

Reproductive Effects: 
Reproductive effects have occurred in humans. Reproductive effects have occurred in experimental animals.

Mutagenicity: 
Mutagenic effects have occurred in experimental animals.

Other Toxicity Data

TOXIC EFFECTS : Blood - changes in serum composition (e.g. TP, bilirubin, cholesterol) Immunological Including Allergic - decrease in cellular immune response Immunological Including Allergic - decrease in humoral immune response 
REFERENCE : BECTA6 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., Service Center, 44 Hartz Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094) V.1- 1966- Volume(issue)/page/year: 51,795,1993

WARNING: This product contains Lindane, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer.

ACUTE/CHRONIC HAZARDS: This chemical is toxic by ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption [033, 062,269]. It is a toxic irritant [275]. Oils may enhance absorption [158]. This chemical can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract [058]. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of chlorine, hydrochloric acid and phosgene [043].

Interactions:

... SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION OF LOTIONS, OINTMENTS, OR OILS MAY ENHANCE PERCUTANEOUS ABSORPTION, ESPECIALLY IN INFANTS & CHILDREN.
[Osol, A. (ed.). Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. 16th ed. Easton, Pennsylvania: Mack Publishing Co., 1980. 1187]**PEER REVIEWED**

TOXICITY OF LINDANE WAS INCR BY COMBINATION WITH EITHER OR BOTH METHYL-PARATHION &/OR CARBARYL AFTER ORAL ADMIN TO RATS.
[GOLBS S ET AL; ARCH EXP VETERINAERMED 32 (4): 557 (1978)]**PEER REVIEWED**

TWO OPPOSITE EFFECTS OF LINDANE ON THRESHOLD FOR PENTYLENETETRAZOL-INDUCED CONVULSIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED. THE THRESHOLD IS LOWERED WITHIN A FEW HOURS AFTER ADMIN OF SINGLE SMALL ORAL DOSE OF LINDANE TO MICE. ... RATS GIVEN LARGE, NEAR-LETHAL DOSES OF LINDANE ARE PROTECTED FROM EFFECTS OF CONVULSIVE DOSES OF PENTYLENETETRAZOL WHEN EXAMINED A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER LINDANE ADMIN. ... FOLLOWING ADMIN OF SINGLE DOSE OF LINDANE /TO MICE/, THE THRESHOLD 1ST DECREASES & THEN, AFTER 2 DAYS, INCREASES ABOVE NORMAL LEVEL.
[Clayton, G.D., F.E. Clayton (eds.) Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology. Volumes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F: Toxicology. 4th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1993-1994. 1552]**PEER REVIEWED**

Human Toxicity Excerpts:

... A CENTRAL NERVOUS STIMULANT ... LINDANE HAS HIGHEST ACUTE TOXICITY /OF BHC ISOMERS/; ITS LETHAL DOSE IS PERHAPS 125 MG/KG. ... FEW HUMAN FATALITIES HAVE BEEN ASCRIBED TO ... LINDANE, BUT MANY NONFATAL POISONINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED. IN U.S. MANY OF THESE ... OCCURRED IN CHILDREN WHO SWALLOWED LINDANE PELLETS INTENDED FOR USE IN VAPORIZERS. ... WITHIN 30 MIN AFTER INGESTING AN EST 1.5 G LINDANE, A 2.5 YR OLD GIRL EXHIBITED IRRITABILITY & GRAND MAL CONVULSIONS. WITH SUPPORTIVE CARE SHE RECOVERED WITHIN 24 HR. SERUM LEVELS OF LINDANE WERE HIGH INITIALLY BUT FELL RAPIDLY. CONSIDERABLE AMT WERE RECOVERED IN 1ST STOOL SAMPLES.
[Gosselin, R.E., R.P. Smith, H.C. Hodge. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 5th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1984.,p. III-239]**PEER REVIEWED**

... REFRESHMENT STAND OPERATORS SUFFERED SEVERE HEADACHE, NAUSEA, & IRRITATION OF EYES, NOSE, & THROAT SHORTLY AFTER EXPOSURE TO VAPORS FROM A DISPENSER IN WHICH LINDANE ... BECAME OVERHEATED. SYMPTOMS ABATED 2 HR AFTER DEVICE WAS REMOVED. ... WOMAN ... DEVELOPED URTICARIA SOON AFTER VAPORIZER WAS INSTALLED IN HER PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. DERMATITIS IMPROVED DURING WEEKENDS BUT RECURRED WHEN SHE RETURNED TO WORK. ... COMPLETE RECOVERY FOLLOWED REMOVAL OF VAPORIZER.
[Hayes, Wayland J., Jr. Pesticides Studied in Man. Baltimore/London: Williams and Wilkins, 1982. 223]**PEER REVIEWED**

Chronic exposure to vapors of ... /lindane/ has resulted in fatal aplastic anemia & other hematologic disorders. These adverse effects have not been reported following use of 1% lindane lotion, cream, or shampoo.
[American Hospital Formulary Service-Drug Information 85. Bethesda, MD: American Society Hospital Pharmacists, 1985. (Plus supplements A & B, 1985). 1601]**PEER REVIEWED**

DERMAL APPLICATION OF 1% LOTIONS OF LINDANE (KWELLADA), FOR TREATMENT OF SCABIES RESULTED IN SEVERE INTOXICATIONS IN SOME CHILDREN & INFANTS. MARKED MENTAL & MOTOR RETARDATION ... NOTED 2 DAYS AFTER TREATMENT IN 4 MO OLD CHILD. LOCAL APPLICATION OF 1% ... PROVED PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS FOLLOWING HOT SOAPY BATH, SINCE THIS INCREASED PERCUTANEOUS ABSORPTION OF THE CMPD. ACCIDENTAL INGESTION BY 1 YR OLD BOY OF 1 TEASPOON OF 1% LINDANE SOLN, IN ADDN TO LOCAL APPLICATION OF THIS SOLN ... RESULTED IN IRRITABILITY, HYPERACTIVITY, & VOMITING, FOLLOWED BY RECOVERY. ...
[Clayton, G.D., F.E. Clayton (eds.) Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology. Volumes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F: Toxicology. 4th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1993-1994. 1555]**PEER REVIEWED**

A 2 MONTH OLD, 4.5 KG, MALE INFANT WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS CRIB AFTER EXCESSIVE APPLICATION OF 1% LINDANE LOTION. IT WAS IDENTIFIED IN BRAIN AT CONCN OF 110 PPB WHICH WAS 3 TIMES GREATER THAN LEVELS FOUND IN BLOOD.
[DAVIES JE ET AL; ARCH DERMATOL 119 (2): 142-4 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**

SIXTY MALE WORKERS BETWEEN 24 & 62 YR OLD EMPLOYED 1 TO 30 YR IN LINDANE PRODUCING FACTORY WERE EXAMINED WITH REGARDS TO FUNCTIONS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM IN COMPARISON WITH 2 EXTERNAL CONTROL GROUPS (20 CLERKS & 20 DAIRY WORKERS OF SAME AGE DISTRIBUTION) HAVING NO CONTACT WITH HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES. NO SIGNS OF NEUROLOGICAL IMPAIRMENT OR PERTUBATION OF "NEUROMUSCULAR FUNCTION" COULD BE ASCERTAINED.
[BAUMANN K ET AL; INT ARCH OCCUP ENVIRON HEALTH 48 (2): 165-72 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**

... Therapeutic doses used in treatment of scabies have been found to have neurotoxic & other effects (ie, nausea, convulsions, cyanosis). Ingestion of large (unspecified) doses has led to muscle & kidney necrosis &, in 1 case, to pancreatitis. Digestive tract inflammation, hemorrhage, coma, & death have been reported after lindane poisoning.
[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer,1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work).,p. V20 220 (1979)]**PEER REVIEWED**

CONCN OF 5-10 UG/ML LINDANE INHIBITED CELL DIVISION IN HUMAN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES IN VITRO & CAUSED CONCENTRATION-RELATED INCR IN FREQUENCY OF CHROMATID BREAKS. IN SV40-TRANSFORMED HUMAN FIBROBLASTS (VA-4), 1 OR 1000 UMOLAR LINDANE FAILED TO INDUCE UNSCHEDULED DNA SYNTHESIS ... IN PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF RAT LIVER MICROSOMAL ACTIVATION SYSTEM.
[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer,1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work).,p. V20 220 (1979)]**PEER REVIEWED**

Toxic concn of lindane found in human blood: 0.050 mg % or 0.50 ug/ml.
[Winek, C.L. Drug and Chemical Blood-Level Data 1985. Pittsburgh, PA: Allied Fischer Scientific, 1985.]**PEER REVIEWED**

Kwell, a pediculicide for external use, contains a solid organochlorine, 1% lindane (BHC). In six months, ... five cases of accidental ingestions of Kwell /have been treated/. Case #1 occurred in a mental institution, #2 and #3 involved misunderstanding by a Spanish speaking mother and #4 and #5 were a mother and child who mistook Kwell for a bottle of cough syrup. The first case was given ipecac but seized while vomiting and aspirated, seized several more times and arrested. He suffered anoxic brain damage when resuscitated, developed rhabdomyolysis and died in one week. Treated with cholestyramine, his BHC blood level fell from 1.3 mg/l to 0.11 mg/l on the fifth day. BHC tissue levels were measured at autopsy. /Cases/ #2, #3, ingested 30 to 60 ml each, #3 seizing initially was not given ipecac. Their BHC levels were 0.22 and 0.48 mg/l, respectively. Cases #4 and #5 took a teaspoon each and were managed at home with poison center /consultation/.
[Kurt TL et al; Vet Human Toxicol 28: 569-71 (1986)]**PEER REVIEWED**

The rapidity with which symptoms develop after the ingestion of BHC varies with the isomer: the gamma isomer is fastest (within 1 hr) and the alpha isomer /is the slowest/ (within 24 hours), and the technical or commercial mixture is intermediate (usually within 2 hours but sometimes as late as 12 hours). Death from the pure gamma isomer is usually prompt (24 hr), whereas from the others it may be several days.
[Gosselin, R.E., R.P. Smith, H.C. Hodge. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 5th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1984.,p. III-240]**PEER REVIEWED**

QUANTITATIVELY, THE ACUTE TOXICITY ... IS SOMEWHAT GREATER THAN THAT OF TECHNICAL BENZENE HEXACHLORIDE. CHRONICALLY, HOWEVER, THE TECHNICAL BENZENE HEXACHLORIDE IS SOMEWHAT MORE TOXIC THAN LINDANE.
[Patty, F. (ed.). Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology: Volume II: Toxicology. 2nd ed. New York: Interscience Publishers, 1963. 1352]**PEER REVIEWED**

Target organs /include/: Eyes, CNS, blood, liver, kidneys, and skin.
[Mackison, F.W., R.S. Stricoff, L.J. Partridge, Jr. (eds.). NIOSH/OSHA Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. DHEW (NIOSH). Publication No. 78-210. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1980. 121]**PEER REVIEWED**

Lindane is a convulsant.
[Mackison, F. W., R. S. Stricoff, and L. J. Partridge, Jr. (eds.). NIOSH/OSHA - Occupational Health Guidelines for Chemical Hazards. DHHS(NIOSH) PublicationNo. 81-123 (3 VOLS). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Jan. 1981. 2]**PEER REVIEWED**

The use of thermal vaporizers with lindane has caused acute poisoning by inhalation.
[Lewis, R.J. Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 9th ed. Volumes 1-3. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996. 338]**PEER REVIEWED**

The gamma (lindane) and alpha isomers are central nervous system stimulants.
[Lewis, R.J. Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 9th ed. Volumes 1-3. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996. 338]**PEER REVIEWED**

Lindane levels in human blood and placental and fetal tissues are higher in cases of spontaneous abortion and prematurity than in normal-term pregnancies. Tissues from stillborn babies show the same range of lindane values as adult tissues.
[Ellenhorn, M.J., S. Schonwald, G. Ordog, J. Wasserberger. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins, 1997. 1625]**PEER REVIEWED**

... lindane crosses the placenta, is excreted in human breast milk, and may be fetotoxic.
[Ellenhorn, M.J., S. Schonwald, G. Ordog, J. Wasserberger. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins, 1997. 155]**PEER REVIEWED**

Lindane used in malaria control in India in 1975-77 caused no skin and coordination problems in 464 sprayers, nor did it cause higher SGPT and serum alkaline phosphatase activities or serum whole cell counts relative to 201 controls. ... Serum protein concentration was affected, as was serum glucose.
[Que Hee, S. (ed.). Biological Monitoring an Introduction. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1993.,p. 501-2]**PEER REVIEWED**

In the biopsy report of one man who had eaten lindane-contaminated foods and who had experienced grand mal seizures for 2 hr, /observers/ described widespread muscle necrosis that followed acidemia, hypertension, myoglobinuria, anemia, and acute renal failure.
[American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Inc. Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices. 6th ed. Volumes I,II, III. Cincinnati, OH: ACGIH, 1991. 859]**PEER REVIEWED**

Lindane Links