PCBs in the Environment

This page provides in-depth information about PCBs in general. It is designed to answer some common questions people have about PCBs. You can either use the table of contents below to go directly to the section that addresses your question, or you can read the entire document. Please email us or call us at 1-877-WINDOW-8 if you have other questions about PCBs that you would like to see answered on this page.

Table of Contents:

What are PCBs?

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, commonly referred to as PCBs, are actually a family of over 200 individual chemical compounds. This means that when we refer to PCBs in general, we are talking about a family of chemicals and not a specific chemical.
The name tells us what it is made of: "Biphenyl" refers to the fact that it is a compound of two ("bi") benzene ("phenyl") rings connected by a single carbon-to-carbon bond. "Polychlorinated" means that one or more ("poly") of the carbon atoms may be replaced with chlorine ("chlorinated").

PCBs were sold under different names, depending on their manufacturer. In the United States (U.S.), PCBs were typically sold under the name Aroclor. Specific mixtures of PCBs are referred to as Aroclor 12XX, where the XX is the percent of chlorine, by weight, in the compound. For example, Aroclor 1268 is 68% chlorine, by weight.

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Where do PCBs come from?

All PCBs are made by humans; there are no known natural sources of PCBs in the environment.

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What were PCBs used for?

PCBs were manufactured in the United States from around 1930 until the 1970's. Because PCBs are good insulators and do not burn easily, the chemicals were used widely in the U.S. They were used as coolants and lubricants in transformers and other electrical equipment. PCBs also were used frequently in products such as plastics, paints, pesticides, and fluorescent light ballasts. At the time, PCBs were thought to be safe, and it is estimated that between 1929 and 1977 about 1.1 billion pounds of PCBs were produced in the U.S. (Flynn and Kleiman, 1991).

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How do PCBs get into the environment?

PCBs have gotten into our water, ground, and air in a variety of ways. Because PCBs were originally thought to be safe, we did not worry about how they were used or how PCB waste was handled, and they were used widely in the U.S. and in other countries. Currently, it is believed that PCBs have spread through the environment around the world.

PCBs were sometimes put directly into the environment when sprayed on roads or when used in pesticides. When PCBs were being regularly produced and used, some manufacturers and industries discharged wastes containing PCBs directly into the environment in disposal methods once approved but now known to be poor practice.
PCBs can continue to be spread in the environment from old releases that have not been cleaned up or that have not yet been identified. PCBs may also be released if wastes containing PCBs are burned. PCBs do not break down easily in the environment and therefore may remain in the environment for long periods of time.

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Are PCBs hazardous to my health?

PCB production in the U.S. was halted in 1977 due to increasing PCB accumulation in the environment and because of growing concerns about the possible negative health effects of PCBs. Today, there is a great deal of debate about the effects of PCBs on human health. However, federal public health organizations and environmental regulatory agencies recommend limiting human exposure to PCBs due to possible health concerns. According to the ATSDR, "the Department of Health and Human Services has stated that PCBs may reasonably be anticipated to be carcinogens," and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer "have determined that PCBs are probably carcinogenic to humans" (ATSDR, 2000a). Possible health effects (Rice and O'Keefe, 1995; U.S. Public Health Service, 1999; ATSDR, 2000b) of PCB exposure in humans may include:
· Skin problems (from direct contact)
· Cancer
· Diabetes
· Liver disease
· Disruption of reproductive functions
· Neurobehavioral and developmental deficits in babies and children
Health effects may vary according to how someone is exposed, how long they are exposed for, the specific PCB mixtures they are exposed to, and a person's existing health conditions at the time of exposure.

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How can I be exposed to PCBs?

Because of the widespread PCB distribution in our environment, most air, soil, and surface water as well as most animals contain small amounts of PCBs. The most significant and frequent source of PCB exposure in humans is by eating PCB-contaminated fish, meats, eggs, and dairy products. People living near hazardous waste sites also may be exposed to higher levels of PCBs by breathing air or drinking water contaminated with PCBs or by direct skin contact with contaminated soils and sediments. Workplace exposure to PCBs can occur from equipment still in use that contains PCBs.

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What do I do if I think I have been exposed to PCBs?

Almost everyone has been exposed to some level of PCBs and will have low levels of PCBs in their body.

There is no treatment for long-term PCB exposure at this time. If tests indicate elevated PCB levels in your body, please consult a doctor about the need for monitoring any related health concerns.

If you are concerned about exposure through contaminated sediments or from eating contaminated fish, please also see the section on limiting your exposure to environmental PCBs.

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Can I be tested for PCB exposure?

Medical tests can determine the level of PCBs in a person's blood, fat, and/or breast milk. These tests can determine if you have higher than average levels of PCBs in your body (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003).

These tests will not be able to determine
· when you were exposed,
· how you were exposed,
· how long you were exposed for, or
· whether you will have health problems as a result of that exposure.

Even if you do determine that you have higher than average levels of PCBs in your body, at this time there are no known treatments to lower your PCB levels.

Testing for PCB levels is not routine. If you want more information on being tested, contact your doctor who may be able to provide you with information or refer you to a lab that does testing. If you do decide to get tested, be aware that the tests can be expensive; even if you have health insurance, your insurance may not cover the tests.

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How can I limit my environmental exposure to PCBs?

• Don't eat fish coming from PCB-contaminated areas, such as Yosemite Slough. If you must eat fish that may be contaminated, try to reduce exposure by selecting younger, smaller fish (within legal limits!); removing skin and fatty tissue in the belly and along the sides; baking or broiling the fish and throwing away the fatty juice and drippings; and not eating the liver and other internal organs (ATSDR, 2002). For more information, see the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's answers to questions on health effects of PCBs in sport fish (http://www.oehha.ca.gov/fish/pcb/index.html).
• Don't allow children to play in the dirt in areas that may be contaminated with PCBs. If children are exposed to dirt that may be contaminated, they should wash their hands frequently. Remember that dirty hands may have spread the dirt to the toys, clothes, and other objects, which should be cleaned separately.
• Avoid swimming in areas that may have PCB contamination. While PCBs typically are not dissolved easily in water, water accidentally swallowed while swimming may contain PCB-contaminated sediments or you may come into contact with PCB-contaminated sediments on the water-bottom.

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For more information, see:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) fact sheet on PCBs:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts17.html

ATSDR Toxicological Profile for PCBs
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp17.html

ATSDR Public Health Statement for PCBs
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs17.html

U.S. Environmental Protection (USEPA) Agency PCB Homepage
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pcb/

USEPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Consumer Factsheet on PCBs
http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/contaminants/dw_contamfs/pcbs.html

Multi-agency report on PCB exposure through fish consumption
http://www.epa.gov/ostwater/fish/pcb99.html

California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment - PCBs in Sport Fish: Answers to Questions on Health Effects
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/fish/pcb/index.html

Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/

Public Health Concerns About Environmental Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
http://www.acsh.org/publications/reports/pcupdate.html

A Risk Management Strategy for PCB-Contaminated Sediments (2001) by the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST)
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309073219/html/

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References used:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 2000a, Public Health Statement for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs17.html (last accessed 09/15/2003).

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 2000b: Toxicological profile for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp17.html (last accessed 09/15/2003).

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 2002, ATSDR Media Announcement -- Community Questions and Answers on PCB Contamination and Health, Orote (Guam), Landfill site, January 2002. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. http://atsdr.cdc.gov/NEWS/oroteqna_032002.html (last accessed 09/15/2003).

Flynn, Leonard, T. and Kleiman, Cindy F., 1997, A Position Paper of the American Council on Science and Health -- Public Health Concerns About Environmental Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): U.S.: Academic Press. http://www.acsh.org/publications/reports/pcupdate2.html (last accessed 09/15/2003).

Rice, Clifford P. and O'Keefe, Patrick, 1995, Sources, Pathways, and Effects of PCBs, Dioxins, and Dibenzofurans, in Hoffman, David A., Rattner, Barnett A., Burton, G. Allen, Jr., Cairns, John, Jr., eds., Handbook of Ecotoxicology: CRC Press, USA, p. 424-468.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003, Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Environmental Health Publication No. 02-0716 (Revised August 2003), 251 p. http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/ (last accessed 11/25/2003).

U.S. Public Health Service, Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1999, Public Health Implications of Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). http://www.epa.gov/ostwater/fish/pcb99.html (last accessed 09/15/2003).