Question

BHC and DDT belong to which class of pesticides?
(a)Organophosphates
(b)Organochlorines
(c)Carbonates
(d)Triazines

Answer 1

Hint: They are also known as chlorocarbon and are denser than water. The wide structural variety and variety of chemical properties of these compounds lead them to be used in agriculture and mosquito control.

Complete answer:
The organochlorine is chlorine-containing hydrocarbons and there are three main groups of organochlorine pesticides which are the DDT like compounds, the chlorine alicyclic, and hexachlorocyclohexane. The first type i.e. DDT type compounds work on the peripheral nervous system. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a crystalline chemical compound that is colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless. It was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler.
The other class is known as hexachlorocyclohexane which includes BHC, chlordane, lindane, mirex, and toxaphene. Gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (BHC) also known as Lindane or benzene hexachloride has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and as a pharmaceutical treatment for lice and scabies.
DDT was originally developed as an insecticide and later became infamous for its environmental impacts. It persists in the environment, accumulates in fatty tissues, causing adverse health effects on wildlife, and becomes a highly polluting hazard. DDT at high environmental doses can have an impact on human health like vomiting, tremors or shakiness, and seizures. Laboratory animal studies showed effects on the liver and reproduction and are considered that DDT is a human carcinogen. It was banned in the US in 1972.
Animals eat foods grown in lindane contaminated soils, also fishes and other marine life are exposed to lindane-contaminated waters and it accumulates in the food chain. High levels of lindane in fishes and mammals may cause acute poisoning as the dysfunction of the nervous system. Lindane’s use as an insecticide has been banned in many countries but topical use in lotions to fight out lice is permitted.
So, the correct answer is ‘Organochlorines’.

Note: The second type of organochlorine type is chlorinated cyclodienes including aldrin, endrin, dieldrin, and endosulfan. A two-eight hour exposure leads to depression of the central nervous system then affected by tremors and seizures.