Plural of aldrin; a synthetic pesticide that was widely used to kill insects on crops until it was banned in most countries due to environmental toxicity.
Named after Kurt Alder, a chemist who won the Nobel Prize. Aldrin was synthesized in 1950 from a Diels-Alder reaction and became one of the most notorious persistent organic pollutants.
Aldrin was so toxic and persistent that it could travel thousands of miles through the air and water before breaking down—polar bears in the Arctic accumulated it in their bodies despite never being sprayed! This led to the famous international ban called the Stockholm Convention.
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