Persistent Organic Pollutant — organochlorine pesticide

Dieldrin in the bedroom

By — 19-year firefighter and entrepreneur. Published July 2026.

Dieldrin is one of the most persistent organochlorine pesticides ever manufactured. It was used directly as an insecticide and is also the primary environmental metabolite of aldrin. The Stockholm Convention lists it as an Annex A POP (elimination). Canada prohibits it under SOR/2025-270 (in force 30 June 2026). IARC classifies it as Group 3 (not classifiable as to carcinogenicity), but animal evidence of liver tumours, extreme environmental persistence, and bioaccumulation drove the global ban. Among the dirty dozen OCPs, dieldrin has some of the strongest evidence for persistence in indoor environments — it has been detected in household dust and indoor air of treated homes more than 20 years after application.

Dieldrin — Embr Bedroom Chemistry Atlas

At a glance

Chemical familyOrganochlorine — cyclodiene insecticide (stable metabolite of aldrin)
CAS number60-57-1
ClassificationIARC Group 3 (not classifiable as to carcinogenicity to humans); Stockholm Convention Annex A (elimination); Canada SOR/2025-270 prohibited
Where you encounter itLegacy termite treatments; household dust and indoor air in homes treated before 1990; food chain (fish, dairy, root vegetables); environmental metabolite of aldrin
Sleep micro-environment relevanceNot in any modern product. Detectable in dust and indoor air of homes treated for termites 20+ years ago. One of the most persistent indoor contaminants ever measured

Regulatory & certification status

European UnionPOP Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 — banned. Original dirty dozen Stockholm POP. Regulatory
United StatesEPA cancelled all registrations by 1987. CERCLA hazardous substance. Listed on California Proposition 65 (cancer). Regulatory
CanadaProhibited under the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 (SOR/2025-270), in force 30 June 2026. Regulatory — Canada authority
InternationalStockholm Convention Annex A (elimination) — original dirty dozen POP. IARC Group 3. Linked to Parkinson's disease in epidemiological studies (causal relationship not established). Regulatory — International authority

What it is

Dieldrin is a chlorinated cyclodiene insecticide, closely related to aldrin — in fact, aldrin converts to dieldrin in soil, water, and living organisms. Dieldrin is more chemically stable than aldrin and significantly more toxic. It was used directly as a pesticide (agriculture, termite control, public health insect control) and also forms as the primary metabolite when aldrin is applied. IARC classified dieldrin as Group 3 in 1987. Despite insufficient cancer evidence in humans, dieldrin is acutely neurotoxic (it acts on GABA receptors) and has been associated with Parkinson's disease in epidemiological studies, though a causal link is not established.

Where it shows up in bedding

Dieldrin was never used in bedding products. Its bedroom relevance is well-documented: studies have found measurable dieldrin in household dust and indoor air of homes where subterranean termite treatments were applied before the compound was banned. In treated homes, dieldrin can volatilise from foundation soil into indoor air and settle in dust, creating a persistent low-level exposure during sleep. Food-chain bioaccumulation (fish, dairy) is the primary exposure route for the general population.

The Embr Exposure Ledger: Dieldrin

One chemical, several public questions, answered from independent datasets and joined here — the environment it shows up in, the body burden it carries, how it is regulated, and what actually reduces it.

This compound appears in 3 of the Embr Exposure Ledger’s 10 exposure datasets.
At what level would it matter?
Published benchmarks exist: a residential indoor-air screening level of 0.00061 µg/m³, set on a cancer endpoint (1-in-a-million excess lifetime risk). A screening level is the concentration at which EPA would look further, not a boundary between safe and harmful. The ledger holds no measured sleeping-environment concentration for this compound, so there is nothing here to compare the benchmark against — it tells you what would matter, not what is in any room.Source: US EPA, Regional Screening Levels (RSL) Summary Table — consolidated toxicity values from IRIS, PPRTV, ATSDR, Cal EPA and OPP
Is it in me?
Measured in the U.S. population serum (03-04): 95th percentile 19 ng/g of lipid or parts per billion on a lipid-weight basis.Source: CDC, National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (NHANES biomonitoring)
Does the law flag it?
Listed under California Proposition 65 for cancer since 1988. Carries an EU-wide binding classification as carcinogenic (category 2). That classifies the substance itself; it does not restrict any product. Banned in the EU under the persistent organic pollutants Regulation: manufacture, sale and use are prohibited. Specific exemptions apply.Source: California OEHHA Proposition 65 List (Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986)Source: EU CLP Annex VISource: EU POPs Regulation

Detection and body-burden figures are occurrence data, not a personal measurement or a health diagnosis. Part of the Embr Exposure Ledger — an open, cross-dataset chemical join (download the data), reusable with attribution.

Citations

  1. IARC (1987). Aldrin and Dieldrin. IARC Monographs, Suppl. 7. Source Regulatory
  2. ATSDR (2002). Toxicological Profile for Aldrin/Dieldrin. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Source Regulatory
  3. Government of Canada. Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 (SOR/2025-270). Source Regulatory

Frequently asked questions

  • How long does dieldrin last in a home?

    Dieldrin is one of the most persistent indoor contaminants ever measured. Studies have detected it in household dust and indoor air more than 20 years after the last termite treatment. Its soil half-life is estimated at 3-5 years, but in protected environments under buildings it can persist much longer. If your home was treated before 1990, professional testing can determine whether dieldrin remains.

  • Is dieldrin linked to Parkinson's disease?

    Several epidemiological studies have found elevated dieldrin levels in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease, and occupational exposure to dieldrin has been associated with increased Parkinson's risk. However, a causal relationship has not been established. Dieldrin acts on GABA receptors and is a potent neurotoxicant — mechanisms plausibly relevant to neurodegeneration — but the evidence remains associative, not conclusive.

Related compounds

  • Methoxychlor — a DDT-replacement insecticide added to Annex A decades later
  • Aldrin — dieldrin is the stable metabolite of aldrin
  • DDT — another original dirty dozen organochlorine POP
  • Chlordane — another OCP termite treatment persistent in homes
  • Lindane — an organochlorine once applied directly to bedding

Embr is a sleep environment company researching and addressing the chemistry of the bedroom. Research and product development in progress.

Last reviewed 2026-07-07. If you find a factual error, contact us.