chlordane

American  

[klawr-deyn, klohr-] / ˈklɔr deɪn, ˈkloʊr- /

Also chlordan

noun

1. a colorless, viscous, water-insoluble, toxic liquid, C 10 H 6 Cl 8 , used as an insecticide.

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chlordane British  

/ ˈklɔːdæn, ˈklɔːdeɪn /

noun

1. a white insoluble toxic solid existing in several isomeric forms and usually used, as an insecticide, in the form of a brown impure liquid. Formula: C 10 H 6 Cl 8

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chlordane Scientific  

/ klôr′dān′ /

1. A colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that occurs in several isomers and was formerly used as an insecticide. Because it can damage the liver and nervous system and remains as a toxin in the environment for many years, chlordane was banned in 1988. Chemical formula: C ₁₀ H ₆ Cl ₈ .

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Etymology

Origin of chlordane

1945–50; chlor- ² + (in)dane an oily cyclic hydrocarbon, equivalent to ind- + -ane

Example Sentences

Beginning in 1945, Illinois-based Velsicol was the sole maker of chlordane as a pesticide for killing insects, Racine said.

From Washington Post • Oct. 13, 2022

Attorney General Karl Racine, the city alleges that Velsicol produced a pesticide that contained chlordane and marketed it to low-income homeowners in the city from 1945 to 1988.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 13, 2022

In 1950, Dr. Arnold J. Lehman, who is the chief pharmacologist of the Food and Drug Administration, described chlordane as “one of the most toxic of insecticides,” adding, “Anyone handling it could be poisoned.”

From The New Yorker • Jan. 3, 2017

Health officials say high levels of arsenic, lead and chlordane are probably tied to lead paint and pesticides that stayed in the soil decades after their use was banned.

From Washington Times • May 29, 2016

The use of chlordane for grasshopper control on the high western plains has been followed by the death of many stream fish.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson