Question

Which of the following statements is not correct?
A. DDT and BHC are not good insecticides because they are highly soluble in water.
B. DDT and BHC are not good insecticides because they are absorbed by the soil and contaminate root crops.
C. Aldrin is not a good insecticide because it is not biodegradable.
D. All of the above are incorrect.

Answer 1

Hint: In order to answer this question we should be knowing well about DDT and BHC. Knowing the properties will help us to answer this question.

Complete step-by-step answer:
DDT or dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is a colorless, tasteless and almost odourless crystal and chemical compound, an organochlorine. It was originally developed as an insecticide. It became infamous for its environmental impacts.
Structure of DDT is shown below:

Benzene hexachloride or BHC has several stereoisomers of 1,2,3,4,5,6 hexachlorocyclohexane which are formed by the light induced addition of chlorine to benzene. One of these isomers is an insecticide called Lindane or Gammalene.
Structure of BHC is given below:

DDT and BHC are considered as both good insecticides since they are highly soluble in water. Therefore we can say that Option A is the correct answer.

Note: DDT is a powerful contact insecticide and is widely used for killing mosquitoes and other insects. It is still being widely used in poor countries due to the non availability of other cheaper insecticides.
DDT is banned in various parts of the world due to both concerns about harm to the environment and the potential for harm to human health, there was also evidence linking DDT with the sudden declines in bald eagle populations due to thinning egg shells.
Moving on to BHC we can say that BHC has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and as a pharmaceutical treatment for lice and scabies.