ENANTIOSELECTIVE DEGRADATION OF ALPHA-HEXACHLOROCYCLOHEXANE AND CYCLODIENE INSECTICIDES IN ROE-DEER LIVER SAMPLES FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS OFGERMANY

Remarkably high concentrations of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-H CH), cis-heptachlorepoxide and oxychlordane were found in roe-deer liv er samples both from the northern and southern German states Schleswig -Holstein and Baden-Wurttemberg, respectively. The data revealed no si gnificant regional differences, but they showed some common characteri stics: a preferential degradation of(+)-alpha-HCH, and a preferential enrichment of (+)-oxychlordane and of (+)-cis-heptachlorepoxide as det ermined by chiral capillary gas chromatography using modified cyclodex trin phases. Calculation of the spearman rank correlation coefficients r(s) supported the assumption that higher concentrations of alpha a-H CH may result in a stronger decomposition of the (+)-enantiomer, while higher levels of cis-heptachlorepoxide and oxychlordane appear to lea d to a faster decomposition of the respective (-)-enantiomer or a pref erential formation of the respective (+)-enantiomer.