Atmospheric PCB congeners across Chicago (original) (raw)
Related papers
The spatial distribution of congener-specific human PCB concentrations in a PCB-polluted region
Science of The Total Environment, 2019
Serum PCB congener concentrations were measured in 602 adults living near a PCB pollution source in eastern Slovakia. We created iso-concentration maps for 21 PCB congeners by geocoding each participant's place of residence and kriging. Concentrations of PCB congeners were inversely associated with the distance of the participants' residence from the source of pollution. Congener-specific risk factors were derived, particularly for PCBs 52 and 153. We observed that the spatial distribution of serum concentrations was influenced by micro-climatic parameters and physicochemical properties of the congeners. PCB congener profiles strongly correlated with that of the PCB commercial product Delor 106, which was manufactured in the region. The iso-concentration maps indicate that the zones with the highest predicted congener concentration have a mean area of approximately 235.75 ± 188.56 km 2 and the mean enrichment of concentration of congeners in serum in these zones is about 5.12 ± 1.36. We estimate that depending on congener approximately 23 457±18 762 individuals with PCB concentrations exceeding health-based guidance values live in these zones.
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...
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2013
Background: In the1950s-1970s polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used in several countries as plasticizers in elastic sealants in buildings. Objective: The primary objective was to study whether residents of PCB-contaminated dwellings had higher plasma levels of PCBs than their neighbours in non-contaminated dwellings. The secondary objective was to study possible associations between concentrations of PCBs in the indoor air and in the plasma of residents. Methods: Stratified cross-sectional study of residents of a housing estate with four sections, of which only one section had PCB-containing sealants. The determination of 27 PCB congeners in plasma was performed among 134 exposed and 139 non-exposed residents. Air measurements were conducted in 104 flats. Results: Significant differences in plasma PCBs between exposed versus non-exposed were found for most of the lower chlorinated and many of the higher chlorinated congeners. The median of sum of 27 PCBs was approximately four times higher in exposed compared with non-exposed residents. The elevated PCB concentrations persisted in multivariable analyses controlling for relevant cofactors. We found significant correlations between PCB indoor air concentrations and the PCB concentration in the plasma of the residents for ten of the lower chlorinated congeners. Conclusion: Our study confirms that indoor air exposure to PCBs from PCB containing sealants may result in a considerable internal PCBs exposure of the residents. For the first time we were able to demonstrate that the internal exposure to low chlorinated PCBs is significantly associated with the indoor air concentration of these congeners.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2010
Indoor air polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were measured in upstate New York as part of a nonoccupational exposure investigation. The adjacent study communities contain numerous sites of current and former PCB contamination, including two capacitor-manufacturing facilities. Indoor air PCB concentrations in the study area homes were not significantly different than in the comparison area homes. Total PCB concentrations in the study area homes ranged from 0.3 to 114.3 ng/m 3 (median 7.9). For the comparison area homes, concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 233.3 ng/m 3 (median 6.8). No correlations were found between PCB concentrations in indoor and outdoor air, with indoor concentrations generally 20 times higher than outdoor concentrations. Of the home characteristics cataloged, the presence of fluorescent lights was significantly associated with total PCB concentration in the study area only. The indoor PCB concentrations measured in this study are similar to those in other communities with known PCB-contaminated sites and similar to levels reported in other locations from the northeastern United States. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of 209 compounds with similar biphenyl core structures and varying patterns of chlorine substitution on the phenyl rings. These compounds are generally considered environmentally persistent and bioaccumulative. Although PCBs were banned by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 1979, they can still be found in homes, factories, and the environment. The main sources of PCBs in the study area are the General Electric Company's (GE) capacitor manufacturing facilities in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward (USEPA 2002). Originally, aroclor 1254 (A1254) was used as the dielectric fluid in GE's capacitors; by the 1950s, A1242 was introduced, and it came to represent 95% of use by the 1960s (Palmer et al. 2010). Between 1971 and 1977, A1016 was the primary aroclor in use (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 2004 [NYSDEC]). Long-term PCB discharge to the river resulted in secondary areas of contamination of river sediments, shorelines, floodplains, and local waste disposal sites that contain dredge spoils. Most soil and water contamination in the study area is from A1242, although contamination has also been documented from A1016, A1221, A1232, A1248, and A1254 (NYSDEC 2004). The New York State Department of Health undertook an investigation to examine the possible effects of nonoccupational exposure to PCBs on the human nervous system (Fitzgerald et al. 2007, 2008). Study participants included men and women, age 55 to 74 years old, from the Upper Hudson River communities of Fort Edward and Hudson Falls who had lived in those communities for at least 25 years. The comparison population was drawn from men and women of the same age group who had resided in Glens Falls, a demographically similar community, for at least 25 years. Those with [1 year of potential occupational
Atmospheric Pollution Research, 2020
Although polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were banned several years ago, they can still be measured in the environment, especially in indoors, where their concentrations tend to be higher than outdoors in some cases. The current study reports the results of a study conducted to determine concentrations of a total of 40 PCBs congeners in the living rooms and kitchens of eight different houses, and in the outdoor air of three houses during summer and autumn in Bursa in 2014. The province of Bursa, having eighteen of organized industrial zones, indoor air pollution is of great importance. The average concentration of ∑ 40 PCBs in living rooms and the kitchen were 604 ± 210 pg/m 3 and 639 ± 2514 pg/m 3 during summer, respectively; while concentrations in autumn were 362 ± 167 pg/m 3 and 309 ± 93 pg/m 3 , respectively. The average ∑ 40 PCBs outdoor concentrations were 303 ± 183 pg/m 3 and 41 ± 23 pg/m 3 for summer and autumn, respectively. The ∑ 40 PCBs concentrations in summer were almost two times higher than in autumn for indoor environment. The predominant PCB homologs in indoor samples were penta-(40%), tetra-(23%) and tri-CBs (17%) while they were penta-(37%) and tetra-CBs (22%) for outdoor samples. The results of the study indicated the presence of intentionally and unintentionally produced PCBs. The I/O ratios suggested the indoor sites as the most important PCBs source than outdoor sites. Finally, the measured PCB concentrations did not represent a cancer risk for human health for exposure via inhalation in all sampling points.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1991
Blood serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in members of a residential community who lived near a chemical plant that formerly manufactured PCBs. Elevated blood serum PCB concentrations were detected in some of the older adults who were long-term residents of the community. Congener-specific analyses indicated that PCB congeners 153, 138/158, 180, 118, and 187 contributed 60-67% of the total PCBs detected in blood from adults and children. Blood PCB concentrations correlated strongly with age and length of residency in the neighborhood. However, blood PCB concentrations did not correlate with PCB concentrations in soil or house dust samples from the homes. Past exposures to PCBs may be a significant contributor to the elevated PCB concentrations detected in some adult members of the community.
Environmental Science & Technology, 2012
Although inhalation of atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is the most universal exposure route and has become a substantial concern in urban areas, research is lacking to determine the body burden of inhaled PCBs and consequent health effects. To reflect the Chicago airshed environment and mimic the PCB profile in Chicago air, we generated vapors from a Chicago air mixture (CAM). Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to the CAM vapor for 1.6 h/day via nose-only inhalation for 4 weeks, 520 ± 10 μg/m 3 . Congenerspecific quantification in tissue and air samples was performed by gas chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/ MS). In contrast to the lower-chlorinated congener-enriched vapor, body tissues mainly contained tri-to hexachlorobiphenyls. Congener profiles varied between vapor and tissues and among different organs. The toxic equivalence (TEQ) and neurotoxic equivalence (NEQ) were also investigated for tissue distribution. We evaluated a variety of end points to catalogue the effects of long-term inhalation exposure, including immune responses, enzyme induction, cellular toxicity, and histopathologic abnormalities. Glutathione oxidized/reduced ratio (GSSG/GSH) was increased in the blood of exposed animals, accompanied by elevation of hematocrit. This study demonstrated that inhalation contributed to the body burden of mostly tri-to hexachlorobiphenyls and produced a distinct profile of congeners in tissue, yet minimal toxicity was found at this exposure dose, estimated at 134 μg/rat.
Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) carcinogenicity with special emphasis on airborne PCBs
Journal Gefahrstoffe - Reinhaltung der Luft, 2011
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial chemicals used in various applications requiring chemical stabilityand have now become widely dispersed. Their characteristics of persistence, low water/higher lipid solubility, contribute to their ability to bioconcentrate and bioaccumulate. Traditionally PCBs have been regulated as food contaminants and the general population is primarily exposed by that route. PCBs in foodstuffs are generally higher chlorinated, resistant to metabolic breakdown, and elicit toxic changes that are thought to be predominantly receptor/parent PCB-driven. But for certain occupational exposures, and for those persons residing or working in contaminated buildings, and in large cities, an inhalation route of exposure may predominate. Airborne PCBs are, in contrast to foodborne PCBs, lower chlorinated, more volatile, and subject to metabolic attack. In this review, we have explored (geno-) toxic manifestations of PCBs typical of those found in air. Here meta...
Chemosphere, 2011
A study was conducted to evaluate the association between PCBs in residential indoor air and in the serum of older, long time residents of three upper Hudson River communities. Samples of indoor air and of serum were collected from 170 persons 55 to 74 years of age, and analyzed for PCBs using glass capillary gas chromatography. After adjusting for age, BMI, cigarette smoking, and Hudson River fish consumption with multiple linear regression analysis, the results indicated statistically significant associations between concentrations in indoor air and serum for PCB-28, a lightly chlorinated congener common in air that accumulates in serum, and PCB-105. Duration of exposure was an important factor, since among persons who had lived in their home for 39 years or more, 11 of the 12 most commonly detected congeners were significantly correlated, as was their sum ( P PCB). Significant associations between indoor air and serum PCB concentrations also were more likely when collected in cooler months and if the two samples were collected within 20 d of each other. The study is among the first to indicate that PCB concentrations characteristic of residential indoor air are associated with a detectable increase in body burden.
Influence of Environmental Contamination with PCBs on Human Health
Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2001
Statistical data on different sicknesses have been processed to evaluate the dynamics of human health in Serpukhov City (an administrative centre in the Moscow region of Russia) and to estimate the contribution of ecological factors to the total level of morbidity. Chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) appear to be among the most dangerous contaminants of the ecosystem that includes the urban areas