Endrin is a stereoisomer of Dieldrin produced by the reaction of vinyl chloride and hexachlorocyclopentadiene to yield a product which is then dehydrochlorinated and condensed with cyclopentadiene to produce isodrin. This intermediate is then epoxidized with peracetic or perbenzoic acid to yield endrin. An alternative production method involves condensation of hexachlorocyclopentadiene with acetylene to yield the intermediate for condensation with cyclopentadiene.
Endrin was first used as a foliar insecticide, rodenticide, and avicide beginning in 1951 to control cutworms, voles, grasshoppers, borers, and other pests on cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, apple orchards, and grain. It was also used as an insecticide agent on bird perches. It is rapidly metabolised by animals and does not accumulate in fat to the same extent as other compounds with similar structures.Endrin is banned in many countries, including Belgium, Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, Israel, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Togo. Its use is severely restricted in many countries, including Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the EU, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, USA, and Venezuela.