extensive usage of hexachlorocyclohexane (hch), 1-naphthyl-n-methyl-carbamate (carbaryl) and 2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl) -1,1,1-trichloro-ethane (p,p-ddt) in india for control of groundnut pests prompted the research team to investigate possible appearance of chemical residues in seed, oil and cake and to determine the effects of commercial processing procedures on the fate and magnitude of the oil residues. the exp 14 c-labelled chemicals were sprayed on 4 varieties of groundnut plants under simulated agricultural conditions. the fate of exp 14 c-residues was studied in seed products using standard techniques. neither carbaryl nor 1-naphthol could be identified in the residue. in the seedcake, the concentration of exp 14 c-residues amounted to 0.15 mg/kg. during processing, alkali treatment removed about 60 while bleaching and deodorization removed only 22 of the residue. during alkali treatment, a considerable amount of carbaryl was converted to 1-naphthol. ddt: only dde at 0.021-0.033 mg/kg was found in oil alkali refining and bleaching procedures had no effect on the removal of exp 14 c-residues, while deodorization removed 67 of the residues. it may be concluded that the recommended use pattern of carbaryl, ddt and hch on groundnut is not likely to lead to undesirable high residues in the oil. although the crude oil contained as much as 1.25 mg/kg hch residues, most of the chemical isomers was removed during refining procedures. ddt residues behave in a similar manner, while carbaryl residues could be substantially reduced through the hydrolytic action of the alkali. (