Chlorinated paraffins: disposition of a highly chlorinated polychlorohexadecane in mice and quail.

Uniformly 14C-labelled 1-chloro-polychlorohexadecane (PCHD) of high chlorine content (69% w/w) was given to Japanese quail and to C57Bl mice perorally (p.o.) and intravenously (i.v.). The degradation of PCHD to 14CO2, measured during 8 h, was found to be minute (about 1% of dose) in both species after either route of administration. In mice 66 and 43% of dose was eliminated in the feces during 96 h following p.o. and i.v. administration, respectively; the urinary excretion was about 3% in both cases. In quail, the combined fecal and urinary excretion during 96 h after p.o. administration was 58% of dose. The autoradiographic distribution following p.o. administration showed some general similarities between mice and quail; high radioactivities were present in bile, liver, kidney, and intestinal contents up to 24 h after administration. In addition, in quail high radioactivity was present in the hypophysis, retina, blood, and egg yolk. In mice strong accumulation and retention was observed in the corpora lutea up to 30 days after administration. A long time retention in fat occurred in both species.