Aqueous solubilities of twelve chlorinated benzenes were determined by two methods. In one method, the solutions in water were prepared by a vigorous stirring method followed by n-hexane extraction and GC-ECD analysis. In the second method, HPLC was used to prepare the saturated solutions. Experimental results were compared with the predictive values, the relative standard deviations are around 10%. Most of the chlorinated benzenes exhibit water induced transformations. The transformation products were either isomeric or with higher and lower numbers of chlorine substituents. The transformation phenomena can be explained by polarity, symmetry, reactivity of the chlorine atoms, and hydrophobic interactions. The mechanism of the transformation is governed by the radical mechanism.

Methods of determining the aqueous solubilities of twelve chlorinated benzenes were evaluated in pure and in different water matrices. In pure water, results were comparable with the calculated values. Higher chlorinated tetrachlorobenzenes (TeCBs), pentachlorobenzenes (PCBz), and hexachlorobenzenes (HCBs) gave better precision and accuracy than lower chlorinated monochlorobenzenes (MCBs), dichlorobenzenes (DCBs), or trichlorobenzenes (TCBs).