What happens to aldrin and dieldrin when they enter the environment?
• Sunlight and bacteria change aldrin to dieldrin so that we mostly find dieldrin in the environment. • They bind tightly to soil and slowly evaporate to the air. • Dieldrin in soil and water breaks down very slowly. • Plants take in and store aldrin and dieldrin from the soil. • Aldrin rapidly changes to dieldrin in plants and animals. • Dieldrin is stored in the fat and leaves the body very slowly.
Aldrin and dieldrin can enter the environment from accidental spills or leaks from storage containers at waste sites. In the past, aldrin and dieldrin entered the environment when farmers used these compounds to kill pests on crops and when exterminators used them to kill termites. Aldrin and dieldrin are still present in the environment from these past uses. Sunlight and bacteria in the environment can change aldrin to dieldrin. Therefore, you can find dieldrin in places where aldrin was originally released. Dieldrin in soil or water breaks down (degrades) very slowly. Dieldrin sticks to soil and may stay there unchanged for many years. Water does not easily wash dieldrin off soil. Dieldrin does not dissolve in water very well and is therefore not found in water at high concentrations. Most dieldrin in the environment attaches to soil and to sediments at the bottoms of lakes, ponds, and streams. Dieldrin can travel large distances by attaching to dust particles, which can then be tran
