Adult Paracentrotus lividus were exposed to a 14C-labelled PCB congener (PCB#153) using two different exposure modes: (1) the surrounding sea water and (2) the food (viz. the phanerogam Posidonia oceanica and the brown alga Taonia atomaria). Uptake kinetics from water and loss kinetics after single feeding were followed in four body compartments of the sea urchins (body wall, spines, gut and go...

The Lower North Shore region of the St. Lawrence River is home to a fish-eating population that displays an unusually high body burden of several organochlorines, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs). We measured biomarkers indicative of liver enzyme induction and investigated the relationship with organochlorine body burden in adult volunteers from this p...

Estrogenicity of Environmental PCBs The paper by Bergeron, Crews, and McLachlan, "PCBs as Environmental Estrogens: Turtle Sex Determination as a Biomarker of Environmental Contamination" (EHP 102:780-781) presents data on the estrogenic activity of 11 chlorinated biphenyls or diphenyl ethers, or hydroxylated derivatives thereof, selected so as to represent a variety of structural types. Some of...

BACKGROUND Indoor air concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in some buildings are one or more orders of magnitude higher than background levels. In response to this, efforts have been made to assess the potential health risk posed by inhaled PCBs. These efforts are hindered by uncertainties related to the characterization and assessment of source, exposure, and exposure-response. ...

The capacity of leaves to take up chemicals from the atmosphere and water influences how contaminants are transferred into food webs and soil. We provide a proof of concept of a passive dosing method to measure leaf/polydimethylsiloxane partition ratios (Kleaf/PDMS) for intact leaves, using polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as model chemicals. Rhododendron leaves held in contact with PCB-loaded ...

An investigation of 24 buildings in the Greater Boston Area revealed that one-third (8 of 24) contained caulking materials with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) content exceeding 50 ppm by weight, which is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) specified limit above which this material is considered to be PCB bulk product waste. These buildings included schools and other public build...

New Bedford Harbor (NBH), MA, is a Superfund site because of high polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in the sediment. From April 1994 to September 1995, a remedial dredging operation (termed the "Hot Spot") removed the most contaminated sediments (PCB concentrations greater than 4000 microg/g) from the upper harbor. During remediation, a monitoring program assessed the potential envi...

Consumption of sport-caught fish from the Great Lakes is a recognized source of human exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Understanding temporal changes in PCB body burden is crucial for evaluating exposure levels and augmenting validity of studies investigating their relationship to adverse health effects. Using data collected from 1980 to 1995, we evaluated longitudinal changes in s...

Human occupational exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with varying chlorine content has been reported by several investigators, using analyses of blood or adipose samples or skin wipes to evaluate levels in the body. The intensity of occupational exposure is related to both duration and intensity of exposure. The qualitative nature of occupational exposure, as well as casual environme...

This paper an presents analysis of metals in waste of printed circuit boards (PCB) covering types of PCB, segregated from PC computers, mobile phones, and mixed. The presented data identifies metals and other substances found in PCB waste based on elemental and technical analysis of PCBs. PCB categorization based on gold concentration is presented, resulting in two groups: electric and electron...