Environmental Contamination
Chlorothalonil has been detected in ambient air in Minnesota and Prince Edward Island, as well as in groundwater in Long Island, New York and Florida. In the first three cases, the contamination is presumed to have come from potato farms.
Research has been done by the University of South Florida and Biologists Taegan McMahon and Jason Rohr report that chlorothalonil killed amphibians, snails, zooplankton, algae, and aquatic plants below estimated environmental concentrations previously deemed safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The loss of these herbivores and plants freed the algae from predation and competition, which eventually resulted in algal blooms that were similar to the effects of eutrophication.
The main breakdown product of chlorothalonil is 4-hydroxy-2,5,6-trichloroisophthalonitrile (SDS-3701). It has been shown to be 30 times more acutely toxic than chlorothalonil and more persistent in the environment. Laboratory experiments have shown it can thin the eggshells of birds, but no evidence supports this happening in the environment.
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