Dieldrin Removal from Wool ProcessWastewaters
W. F. BERNHOLZ, Manager
Industrial Research Laboratory
J. BARANDY, Manager
Analytical Research Services
N. KINS, Supervisor
GLC Service Laboratory
DREW—Division of Pacific Vegetable Oil Corporation
Boonton, New Jersey
INTRODUCTION
Dieldrin is a chlorinated hydrocarbon, containing not less than 85 percent
HEOD (1,2,3,4,10,10-Hexachloro - 6,7 - epoxy - 1, 4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a - octahydro -1,4-
endo, exo - 5,8 - dimethanonaphthalene). Though best known as a pesticide for
agricultural use, the work of Lipson (1,2) and Redston (3) has shown dieldrin to be
a most effective durable mothproofing agent for wool.
Over 750,000,000 pounds of wool have been durably mothproofed in the
United States since 1958. This mode of treatment has been continuously checked
since its introduction by an exacting quality control program. Mill production of
processed wool has been extensively analyzed by either the Parr Bomb total chlorine
method, or more recently, by gas-liquid chromatography technique.
Properly incorporated into wool, dieldrin is "fast". When fixed in wool fiber,
dieldrin will strongly resist removal by either twenty hand laundering cycles or
twenty-five cycles of extractive action by commercial dry cleaning solvent.
(Perchloroethylene or Stoddard solvent).
By responsible control of a potentially hazardous material, valid claims of
either inadequate mothproofing effect, or of health hazard to textile workers and
consumers, have been virtually non-existent.
Full exhaustion of dieldrin from the dyebath is never completely attained,
however, even with optimum conditions.
The dyebath waste, and dye-lot washings, carry small amounts of unabsorbed
dieldrin (Table I).
Disposal of effluent containing dieldrin, therefore, must be prudently
regulated. Dieldrin is a well-known potential toxicant to fish (2). This fact, in
practice, may well escape recognition due to the heavy dilution of toxicant-bearing
effluent by adjunctive mill wastes.
Direct release of dyehouse effluent containing dieldrin to streams is potentially
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