PCB's

PCBs, or PolychlorinatedBiphenyls, are a group of environmentally harmful compounds that used to be produced in the United States.  A PCB molecule is any of 209 chemical compounds called congeners.  For something to be classified as a PCB, one to ten chlorine atoms must be attached to a biphenyl molecule. 

PCBs were manufactured in the United States, Europe, and Japan under the trade name “Aroclor”.  Monsanto was the company that produced “Aroclor”. PCB’s used to be in just about everything.  Whether it be plastics, paints, rubber products, coolants, electrical components or anything dealing with the manufacturing process. They are favorable in products for their thermal and chemical resistance.  PCBs have a very high boiling point, usually above 270 degrees Celsius.  This is what makes them so useful for heat resistant applications.  For this reason they were often used in high temperature lubricants.  Many plastic parts for automobiles, and other equipment that are close to a heat source such as an engine contained PCB’s.  For the same reason, PCB’s were widely used in electrical equipment.  Transformers and lining of wires often require being I insulated with heat resistant material. 

This requirement makes PCB’s a perfect match. While banned in many countries, like the U.S., Canada, and a lot of the European Union, many developing countries still use PCB’s in production of their products.    For the same reasons that make PCB’s so useful, they are also harmful to the environment.  Because they are so resistant to heat and other factors, they also do not break down in the environment over time.  This means that they accumulate at a very rapid rate.  This is particular evident in our water ways.  The animal that is considered to have the highest PCB concentration is the orca whale.  But in more general terms, aquatic life generally has the highest level of PCB’s.  Predatory fish/mammals have the highest levels due to bioaccumulation.  This is because they are eating lower life forms every day.  The PCB’s that their prey has absorbed is than brought into the body of the predatory animal.  Because PCB’s do not break down easy, they stay in the animal’s body.  This can have many adverse health effects.  Just some of the effects include mothers having premature births, cancer, heart disease, and pretty much anything else you can think of relating to a chronic condition.  Now this all sounds bad, no one wants animals to be sick.  But the concerning part about this is that humans are eating these animals.  So we are also suffering from bioaccumulation.  PCB’s are thought to have the same effect in humans as on marine mammals.  This is concerning because such a large portion of the fish we eat come from the ocean.  In particular salmon, which is a predatory fish.  So if bioaccumulations happening in salmon, it is even more magnified in humans, since we are actually eating a predator.  Overall, we need to completely stop the use PCBs worldwide.  It does not matter if the U.S. is no longer using PCB’s if other nations still are.  PCB’s drift thousands of miles and spread all across the world in are oceans.