Residues of lindane in plasma and fat of sheep after dipping.

Ten 5-6 year-old unshorn ewes were dipped in a 0.025% lindane solution. Lindane residues in fat and plasma were analysed by gas liquid chromatography with an electron capture detector. The sensitivity of the method was 0.02 microgram/g for fat and 0.005 microgram/ml for plasma. Blood samples of 5 sheep were collected up to 84 days. The highest concentration of lindane detected in plasma was 107 +/- 37 ng/ml, 48 h after treatment. The disposition of lindane in plasma was studied by linear regression. Omental fat samples were removed by biopsies at 7 or 14 day intervals for 154 days. Fat concentrations of lindane were very high, respectively 30.46 +/- 14.6 ug/g, 8.09 +/- 4.57 micrograms/g, and 1.72 +/- 0.81 micrograms/g, 7, 28 and 70 days after dipping. In plasma and fat, the coefficients of elimination calculated by linear regression were similar (0.00190 +/- 0.00053 h-1 for plasma, 0.00196 +/- 0.00031 h-1 for fat). The tolerance recommended in France (2 micrograms/g in fat) was obtained 59.7 +/- 9.7 days after this treatment.