Hexachlorobenzene in hazardous waste sites
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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Chromosomics: Detection of Numerical and Structural Alterations in All 24 Human Chromosomes Simultaneously Using a Novel OctoChrome FISH Assay
Published on: February 6, 2012
Abstract:
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has been measured in the water, soil, air or biota at several uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. At one of these sites in Louisiana, 9,500,000 ppb have been measured in the oily fraction of an oil-water mixture taken from a monitoring well, and in water of nearby wells at concentrations up to 28 ppb. HCB has been detected in solid wastes and sediments at concentrations up to 6,000,000 ppb at a site in Michigan, while fish in a nearby creek contained up to 50 ppb. At other sites, HCB has been detected in air. Thus, exposure to this chemical may occur by several routes. Hazardous waste sites containing HCB, which are now being cleaned up under Superfund, include sites used for disposal of by-products of rubber manufacture, liquid-waste processing and incineration, and pesticide production. The variety of known sources of HCB suggests that its occurrence in hazardous waste sites may be widespread.
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