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[March is "Chemical Month" on 13.7 Billion Years]PCBs have long been banned, but their effects are still being felt
"Serum PCB concentrations at levels similar to the US general population were associated with failed implantation among women undergoing IVF," or in vitro fertilization, according to a new study led by John D. Meeker from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives .
"Most people are exposed to PCBs by eating contaminated fish, meat, and dairy products. Catfish, buffalo fish, and carp usually have the highest PCB levels," according to the Illinois Department of Health. Avoidance of PCBs is yet another reason to move to a vegetarian diet.
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are believed to be probable carcinogens by the Department of Health and Human Services, the EPA, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Widely used in the past as coolants, insulating fluids, plasticizers and stabilizers, PCBs were commonly found in a variety of products, such as fluorescent light fittings, electrical transformers, cements, paints, PVC coatings, pesticides, lubricating oils, hydraulic fluids, sealants, adhesives, wood floor finishes, paints and waterproofing agents.
Because of their high toxicity and persistence, PCBs were banned by the United States in 1979 and by the Stockholm Convention in 2001. Similar to dioxin, PCBs are neurotoxic endocrine disruptors and can lead to sexual, skeletal, and mental development problems.
From around 1947 to 1977, GE dumped up to 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River. Cleanup in the area is still ongoing. In 2007, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation began investigating the presence of PCBs in endangered Hudson River bats.
Large-scale PCB contamination events have also occurred in Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, the Great Lakes, Alabama, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and the Republic of Ireland.
