Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in 23 seafood species widely consumed by the Korean population periods 2005–2007, 2010–2011, 2015–2017. The Σ82PCB (sum 82 PCB congeners) Σ19PBDE 19 PBDE concentrations samples 2015–2017 0.06–6.69 ng/g wet weight 0.01–1.60 weight, respectively. significantly correlated. Elevated found fat...

The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) can serve as a useful indicator of food web contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) because of its high trophic level, wide distribution in temperate coastal waters of the Northern Hemisphere, and relative ease of capture. In 1996 through 1997, we live-captured 60 harbor seal pups from three regions, spanning remote (Queen Charlotte Strait, BC, Can...

What are PCBs? PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are a group of synthetic oil-like chemicals of the organochlorine family. It was first described in technical literature in 1881 and commercial production commenced in the late 1920’s. Until their toxic nature was recognized and their use was banned in the early 1980s, they were widely used as insulation in electrical equipment, particularly trans...

The current study shows a calibration method in gas chromatography (GC) with detection by mass spectrometry (MS) to quantify polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in transformer oils. The calibration was carried out with a secondary standard composed of a mixture of Aroclors (A1254:A1260), in one to one proportion and a reference standard (1,3,5-trichlorobenzene). This last one was used to e...

Although the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in a wide variety of industrial applications in the U. S. from 1930 until 1970, when their distribution was voluntarily restricted to closed systems, there is scant information on human exposure to adverse human health effects in the U. S. In the U. S., minimal human exposure of the population to PCBs is limited to food, air, and wate...

Recent pinniped die-offs have led to the speculation that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are immunomodulatory, making individuals more susceptible to viral infections. Eighteen healthy harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups (aged 3-4 weeks) were live-captured from southern British Columbia, Canada, and maintained temporarily in captivity for an immunotoxicological assessment. The relationships...

Individual blood samples obtained from yusho and yu-cheng patients who had been poisoned by ingesting contaminated cooking oils, from workers occupationally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and from unexposed individuals were analyzed for PCBs, polychlorinated quaterphenyls (PCQs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. PCBs were found i...