Hexachlorocyclohexane: sources, harmful effects and promising bacteria for its bioremediation

Abstract

Highly toxic organic wastes have been released into the environment over a long time. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as pesticides, fuels, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dyes are some of these compounds (Wania et al. 1993). POPs are resistant to biodegradation by native flora (Diez et al. 2010) compared to the naturally occurring organic compounds that are readily degraded. Therefore, hazardous compounds and chemicals have become one of the worldwide problems today. Among POPs, organochlorine pesticides (OPs) constitute a major environmental problem, mainly because of their high persistence and ability to bioaccumulate in the food chain, as well as for their toxicity (Xue et al. 2006, Fuentes et al. 2010).