Hydroxylated metabolites of beta- and delta-hexachlorocyclohexane: bacterial formation, stereochemical configuration, and occurrence in groundwater at a former production site.

Although the use of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), one of the most popular insecticides after the Second World War, has been discontinued in many countries, problems remain from former production and waste sites. Despite the widespread occurrence of HCHs, the environmental fate of these compounds is not fully understood. In particular, environmental metabolites of the more persistent beta-HCH and delta-HCH have not been fully identified.