PCB Check-Up In Northern Europe

2007

2006

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent hazardous chemicals and are now out of production worldwide. Although over 20 years have passed since the Helsinki Convention promoted the elimination of PCB use, it is difficult to put an end to PCB emissions in a short time because PCBs have a long lifetime in the environment and a major portion of PCBs are emitted from electrical equipment manufactured before the Helsinki Convention but still used today. PCBs have an impact on human sperm integrity in the European male population; furthermore, Arctic ecosystems such as those supporting polar bears and seals are exposed to risks due to the long-distance transport of PCBs. Most European countries have no proper facilities for PCB treatment. After analyzing extensive information about PCB treatments, it is concluded that the thermal process is technically sound and cost-effective. This study contributes to the promotion of treatments in most European countries storing PCBs with the aim of pursuing a sustainable future.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were widely used in industrial and commercial applications, until they were banned in the late 1970s as a result of their significant environmental pollution. PCBs in the environment gained scientific interest because of their persistence and the potential threats they pose to humans. Traditionally, human exposure to PCBs was linked to dietary ingestion. Inhalational exposure to these contaminants is often overlooked. This review discusses the occurrence and distribution of PCBs in environmental matrices and their associated health impacts. Severe PCB contamination levels have been reported in e-waste recycling areas. The occurrence of high PCB levels, notably in urban and industrial areas, might result from extensive PCB use and intensive human activity. Furthermore, PCB contamination in the indoor environment is ten-fold higher than outdoors, which may present expose risk for humans through the inhalation of contaminated air or through the ingestio...

2013

Toxics, 2017

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated sites around the world affect human health for many years, showing long latency periods of health effects. The impact of the different PCB congeners on human health should not be underestimated, as they are ubiquitous, stable molecules and reactive in biological tissues, leading to neurological, endocrine, genetic, and systemic adverse effects in the human body. Moreover, bioaccumulation of these compounds in fatty tissues of animals (e.g., fish and mammals) and in soils/sediments, results in chronic exposure to these substances. Efficient destruction methods are important to decontaminate polluted sites worldwide. This paper provides an in-depth overview of (i) the history and accidents with PCBs in the 20th century, (ii) the mechanisms that are responsible for the hazardous effects of PCBs, and (iii) the current policy regarding PCB control and decontamination. Contemporary impacts on human health of historical incidents are discussed ne...

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 1996

The main task of the Nordic Expert Group for Criteria Documentation of Health Risks from Chemicals (NEG) is to produce criteria documents to be used by the regulatory authorities as the scientific basis for setting occupational exposure limits for chemical substances. For each document NEG appoints one or several authors. An evaluation is made of all relevant published, peer-reviewed original literature found. The document aims at establishing dose-response/dose-effect relationships and defining a critical effect. No numerical values for occupational exposure limits are proposed. Whereas NEG adopts the documents by consensus procedures, thereby granting the quality and conclusions, the authors are responsible for the factual content of the document. The evaluation of the literature and the drafting of this document on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was done by M Ph Birgitta Lindell, Swedish Work Environment Authority, Stockholm. The draft versions were discussed within NEG and the final version was accepted by the present NEG experts on May 24, 2011. Editorial work and technical editing were performed by the NEG secretariat. The following present and former experts participated in the elaboration of the document:

Chemosphere, 2001

Evidently increased environmental pollution as a consequence of the 25-year manufacture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in eastern Slovakia was observed. PCB levels determined in ambient air, soil, surface water, bottom sediment, wildlife (®sh and game) samples collected in a potentially contaminated area of about 250 km 2 (a part of the Michalovce district) were compared with those determined in a control area (Stropkov district). Up to 1700 ng=m 3 were found in ambient air in a village close to a manufacturer's dumping site and a highly contaminated manufacturer's euent canal whereas PCB concentrations in ambient air samples taken in villages in the control area were about 80 ng=m 3 only. While soil samples taken from the agricultural ®elds of the polluted area contained PCBs at levels comparable with soil samples from the control area (about 0.008 mg/kg) much higher values (from 0.4 to 53 000 mg/kg) were determined in soil taken in the vicinity of manufacturer's land®ll and storage sites and especially plants preparing asphalted gravel using formerly PCBs in their heat-exchanging systems. The contamination of the Laborec river and large Zemplinska Sirava reservoir is caused by the manufacturer's euent canal since PCB levels in the canal sediment are still to be found about 3000 mg/kg. While PCB levels in sediment samples from Michalovce watercourses ranged between 1.7 and 6 mg/kg, sediment samples from the control Stropkov district ranged between 0.007 and 0.052 mg/kg only. Fish living in contaminated Michalovce waters contained about hundred times higher PCB levels than those caught in Stropkov ones. Similarly, game animals shot in Michalovce forests contained several times higher levels than those shot in Stropkov ones. Ó

Public Health Reports

International Research Journal of Pure and Applied Chemistry

Organic pollutants are continuously disrupting the equilibrium of nature. Polychlorinated Biphenyls are a member of the broad family of man-made organic chemicals well-known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. Due to their chemical stability, high boiling point and electrical insulating properties, non-flammability, Polychlorinated Biphenyls are used in various commercial as well as industrial applications. Polychlorinated Biphenyls residues remain in the ecosystem and bioaccumulate in various organisms due to their persistent nature and resistance against natural breakdown agents. This leads to the enlisting of approximately 209 chlorinated congeners in the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention. Their residues have been detected in various environmental components even though their production has been banned for more than a decade. High residues of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in water bodies, aquatic faunas, soils and sediments, air, and biota samples h...

Environmental Reviews, 1999

Introduction: A chemical factory located in Brescia, an industrialized town in North Italy, produced polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) since the 1930s to the 1980s, determining a relevant pollution of soil, food and people. Since 2001, following a survey carried out in the general population living in the town, the individuals with PCB serum levels higher than the reference entered a follow-up study. Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study including subjects with at least three PCB measures during the period 2003-2015. We evaluated the temporal trends of total PCB serum levels, the most common PCB congeners (PCB 138,153, 170, 180, 194 and 209), and toxic equivalency of dioxin-like PCBs using univariate and multivariate mixed models with and without a cubic-spline term for time. Results: A total of 128 subjects were enrolled (46.1% males, mean age at enrolment 57.7 years). The geometric mean of PCBs decreased from 35.4 ng/ml at 0-3 years to 29.3 ng/ml at 4-8 years and to 23.0 ng/ml at 9-12 years. A 3.8% reduction of total PCB serum levels per year was estimated using both univariate and multivariate mixed models adjusted for age; a similar reduction was found for the most common PCB congeners and for toxic equivalency. Total PCB serum levels decreased over time for each age group: −3.9%, −4.0% and −3.4% for subjects aged ≤55 years, 56-65 and ≥66 years, respectively. Conclusion: A significant decrease of serum concentrations of PCBs was observed in subjects with high serum levels of these chemicals at enrolment over a twelve year period. The decrease was evident for each PCB congener and age group.