Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) kinetics were compared in rats before, during and after partial starvation. Food restriction produced a drastic mobilization of the residues stored in the adipose tissue resulting in symptoms of neurotoxicity. The redistribution was reversible and did not produce a significant reduction in the chemicals body burden. HCB and p,p'-DDE, although both highly lipophilic, showed important differences in their blood transport and distribution pattern, with more HCB being transported by red blood cells and with a greater facility for HCB to reach the liver and the brain.