Chlordane poisoning

Researchers think poisoning of birds from chlordane is more common than currently recognised, after analysing a serious US incident.

In 1997, scientists at the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife Office recovered from one roost a total of 425 dead or sick birds comprising 307 common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), 104 European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and 14 American robins (Turdus migratorius). Sick birds displayed signs consistent with chlordane poisoning, including convulsions, opisthotonos, (excessive spasms throughout the body) and excessive vocalization. Brain metabolite residues indicative of chlordane poisoning were found in all of the 23 samples analysed.
    Chlordane is a persistent compound that has a half-life in soils of five to 15 years. It is estimated that 25-50% of all the chlordane produced still exists in the environment. Today US applications are mainly restricted to underground termite control.
    The scientists now conclude that the bird-kill represents the largest chlordane poisoning incident reported in the US. 

W Stansley and D Roscoe, Chlordane poisoning of birds in New Jersey, USA, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1999, Vol. 18, No. 9, pp2095-2099.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 46, December 1999, page 9]