Determination of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-hexachlorocyclohexane (BHC) in air by microdiffusion method

A simple analytical method is described whereby 1,2,3,4,5, 6-hexachlorocyclohexane (BHC) is extracted from a sample in acetic acid, dechlorinated by reaction with zinc and acetic acid and the resultant benzene is volatilized and absorbed in a nitrating mixture by micro-diffusion technique. The m-dinitrobenzene formed in the nitrating mixture is spectrophotometrically analyzed by the butanone method. The sensitivity and precision (CV) of this method is found to be 5 micrograms +/- 5.0%.