Biotransformation and disposition of hexachlorocyclopentadiene in fish.

Fate of hexachlorocyclopentadiene (Hex) was studied in fresh-water fish using in vivo and in vitro systems. Hex injected intraperitoneally into goldfish is readily distributed, stored and metabolized (greater than 11 organosoluble and hydrophilic metabolites). The body radioactivity in tissues declines, but levels in bile remain high, indicating biliary excretion as a major route of elimination for Hex and its metabolites.