In the 1980s, organohalogen compounds exchanged their reputation as products of the progress of technically developed societies for that of critically assessed environmental chemicals. A Nobel Prize in Chemistry and discourse between environmental associations and decision-makers speak volumes about a never-ending debate between harmful and useful, wrong and right, black and white.
Unaffected by these disputes, reports appeared in the scientific literature at the same time that painted a completely different picture: Coal deposits, formed in the Carboniferous period 300 million years ago, contain organohalogen compounds, just like the ever-enchanting smell of the sea.
Where do organohalogen compounds in nature from millions of years apart from human activity come from? What is their function? How do the structures of naturally occurring organohalogen compounds differ from those of human production?
The lecture offers answers to the questions posed and resolves contradictions in thought models.