CHLORINATED INSECTICIDES IN THE BODY FAT OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES.

Benzene hexachloride and dieldrin are present in the body fat of people in the general population of the United States. The mean concentration of dieldrin is 0.15 +/- 0.02 parts per million, which is in good agreement with the concentration reported for southern England. The mean concentration of benzene hexachloride is 0.20 +/- 0.04 ppm, which is considerably lower than the mean concentration reported for France. Paired analyses of DDT by gas chromatographic and colorimetric methods show that the results of the latter may give incorrectly high results when applied to human fat.