Radiation-initiated dechlorination of organochlorine ecotoxicants

The yields of chloride ions produced by the action of gamma-radiation on aqueous, aqueous alcohol, and alcohol solutions of trichloroethylene, hexachlorocyclohexane, sodium 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate, pentachlorophenol, hexachlorobenzene, and Sovtol-10 (polychlorinated biphenyl) were measured. The effect of alkali and oxygen on the dehalogenation of these compounds was examined. Dechlorination in an aqueous medium is effected by e(aq) and OH radicals, as well as by hydrolysis of the radicals produced from the compounds in question. In an alkaline alcohol, chain dehalogenation processes involving electron transfer from the alcohol radical anion to a chlorinated organic molecule develop. It was found that Sovtol-10 is almost completely (by 99.7%) dechlorinated in a 1% solution at a dose of <= 20 kGy.