When we think of chlorine, we often relate it to the salt used in food preparation, chloride in the oceans, chlorine gas from swimming pools, and gaseous chlorofluorocarbons that have close links to the depletion of stratospheric ozone. We rarely think of thousands of chlorinated hydrocarbons that exist in the natural systems, several of which are highly toxic to humans (1). The C-Cl bond, common to all organo-Cl compounds, is strong and gives high stability to organo-Cl compounds. For this reason, several organo-Cl compounds have been synthesized and used extensively for years in agricultural and industrial applications.
