present. However, adsorption of PCP in soils is pH dependent because it increases under acidic conditions and decreases in neutral and basic conditions. Synthesis PCP can be produced by the chlorination of phenol in the presence of catalyst (anhydrous aluminium or ferric chloride) and a temperature up to about 191 °C. This process does not result in complete chlorination and commercial PCP is only 84-90% pure. The main contaminants include other polychlorinated phenols, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. Some of these species are even more toxic than the PCP itself. Pentachlorophenol by country In May 2015, countries which have signed the Stockholm Convention voted 90–2 to ban pentachlorophenol use. The United States is not a signatory and has not banned the chemical. New Zealand PCP was used in New Zealand as a timber preservative and antisapstain treatment, but since 1988 is no longer used. It was also sold as a moss killer to the general public (by Shell, at least) in the form of a 115g/L aqueous solution and labelled as a poison. United States Since the early 1980s, the purchase and use of PCP in the U.S has not been available to the general public. Nowadays, most of the PCP used in the U.S is restricted to the treatment of utility poles and railroad ties. In the United States, any drinking-water supply with a PCP concentration exceeding the MCL, 1 ppb, must be notified by the water supplier to the public. Disposal of PCP and PCP-contaminated substances are regulated under RCRA as F-listed (F021) or D-listed (D037) hazardous wastes. Bridges and similar structures such as piers can still be treated with pentachlorophenol. Chile PCP was widely used in Chile until the early 1990s as a fungicide to combat the so-called "blue stain" in pine timber under the name of Basilit. See also Collision between MV Testbank and MV Seadaniel Creosote Havertown Superfund References External links Non-CCA Wood Preservatives: Guide to Selected Resources - National Pesticide Information Center EPA on pentachlorophenol atsdr.cdc.gov on pentachlorophenol CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards EPA study that used the fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium to aid in bioremediation of pentachlorophenol in soil EPA ReRegistration - www.regulations.gov -Search docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0653. Fungicides Endocrine disruptors Chlorobenzenes Phenols Persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention Steroid sulfotransferase inhibitors Uncoupling agents