ABSTRACT
2,4,5-Trichlorophenol may be released to the environment through its production, use as a pesticide and pesticide intermediate, and use of pesticides in which it is an impurity. It may form in the environment as a degradation product of the pesticides pentachlorophenol and 2,4,5-T. 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol is a major contaminant of the herbicides 2,4,5-T and silvex, and of the insecticide ronnel, which are made from 2,4,5-trichlorophenol. Soil microbes have been found to metabolize 2,4,5-trichlorophenol to 3,5-dichlorocatechol, 4-chlorocatechol, succinate, cis-2,4-dichloromuconate, 2-chloro-4-(carboxymethylene)but-2-enolide, and chlorosuccinate under aerobic conditions. 2,4,5-trichlorophenol may photolyze or it may react with photochemically generated hydroxyl radicals. The most probable routes of human exposure to 2,4,5-trichlorophenol are inhalation and dermal contact of workers involved in the manufacture, formulation or application of pesticides containing this compound. The general population may be exposed on a sporadic basis to low levels of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol through air, food, or drinking water.
