What Are PCBs?
PCBs are a group of man-made organic chemicals consisting of carbon, hydrogen and chlorine atoms. The number of chlorine atoms and their location in a PCB molecule determine many of its physical and chemical properties. PCBs have no known taste or smell, and range in consistency from an oil to a waxy solid.
PCBs belong to a broad family of man-made organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. PCBs were domestically manufactured from 1929 until manufacturing was banned in 1979. They have a range of toxicity and vary in consistency from thin, light-colored liquids to yellow or black waxy solids. Due to their non-flammability, chemical stability, high boiling point and electrical insulating properties, PCBs were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications including:
Electrical, heat transfer and hydraulic equipment
Plasticizers in paints, plastics and rubber products
Pigments, dyes and carbonless copy paper
Other industrial applications
Inadvertent PCBs
In the United States, PCBs were commercially manufactured from 1929 until production was banned in 1979 by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). However, EPA’s regulations implementing TSCA for PCBs allow some inadvertent generation of PCBs to occur in excluded manufacturing processes, as defined in title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 761.3.
Specifically, the PCB regulations allow inadvertently generated PCBs (iPCBs) at defined concentrations, under certain conditions, and with requirements to report to EPA and maintain certain records. Learn more about iPCBs, including the regulatory context, EPA enforcement, iPCBs in the environment, ongoing research conducted by the EPA, and pollution prevention efforts.
Commercial Uses for PCBs
Although no longer commercially produced in the United States, PCBs may be present in products and materials produced before the 1979 PCB ban. Products that may contain PCBs include:
Transformers and capacitors
Electrical equipment including voltage regulators, switches, re-closers, bushings, and electromagnets
Oil used in motors and hydraulic systems
Old electrical devices or appliances containing PCB capacitors
Fluorescent light ballasts
Cable insulation
Thermal insulation material including fiberglass, felt, foam, and cork
Adhesives and tapes
Oil-based paint
Caulking
Plastics
Carbonless copy paper
Floor finish
The PCBs used in these products were chemical mixtures made up of a variety of individual chlorinated biphenyl components known as congeners. Most commercial PCB mixtures are known in the United States by their industrial trade names, the most common being Arochlor.
Release and Exposure of PCBs
Today, PCBs can still be released into the environment from:
Poorly maintained hazardous waste sites that contain PCBs
Illegal or improper dumping of PCB wastes
Leaks or releases from electrical transformers containing PCBs
Disposal of PCB-containing consumer products into municipal or other landfills not designed to handle hazardous waste
Burning some wastes in municipal and industrial incinerators
PCBs do not readily break down once in the environment. They can remain for long periods cycling between air, water and soil. PCBs can be carried long distances and have been found in snow and sea water in areas far from where they were released into the environment. As a consequence, they are found all over the world. In general, the lighter the form of PCB, the further it can be transported from the source of contamination.
PCBs can accumulate in the leaves and above-ground parts of plants and food crops. They are also taken up into the bodies of small organisms and fish. As a result, people who ingest fish may be exposed to PCBs that have bioaccumulated in the fish they are ingesting.
The National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducts the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). NHANES is a series of U.S. national surveys on the health and nutrition status of the noninstitutionalized civilian population, which includes data collection on selected chemicals. Interviews and physical examinations are conducted with approximately 10,000 people in each two-year survey cycle. PCBs are one of the chemicals where data are available from the NHANES surveys.
PCB Congeners
A PCB congener is any single, unique well-defined chemical compound in the PCB category. The name of a congener specifies the total number of chlorine substituents, and the position of each chlorine. For example: 4,4'-Dichlorobiphenyl is a congener comprising the biphenyl structure with two chlorine substituents - one on each of the #4 carbons of the two rings. In 1980, a numbering system was developed which assigned a sequential number to each of the 209 PCB congeners.
PCB Homologs
Homologs are subcategories of PCB congeners that have equal numbers of chlorine substituents. For example, the tetrachlorobiphenyls are all PCB congeners with exactly 4 chlorine substituents that can be in any arrangement.
PCB Mixtures and Trade Names
With few exceptions, PCBs were manufactured as a mixture of individual PCB congeners. These mixtures were created by adding progressively more chlorine to batches of biphenyl until a certain target percentage of chlorine by weight was achieved. Commercial mixtures with higher percentages of chlorine contained higher proportions of the more heavily chlorinated congeners, but all congeners could be expected to be present at some level in all mixtures. While PCBs were manufactured and sold under many names, the most common was the Aroclor series.
Individual PCB Congeners
Aroclor
Aroclor is a PCB mixture produced from approximately 1930 to 1979. It is one of the most commonly known trade names for PCB mixtures. There are many types of Aroclors and each has a distinguishing suffix number that indicates the degree of chlorination. The numbering standard for the different Aroclors is as follows:
The first two digits usually refer to the number of carbon atoms in the phenyl rings (for PCBs this is 12)
The second two numbers indicate the percentage of chlorine by mass in the mixture. For example, the name Aroclor 1254 means that the mixture contains approximately 54% chlorine by weight.
Table of Aroclors
PCB Trade Names
PCBs were manufactured and sold under many different names. The names in the following table have been used to refer to PCBs or to products containing PCBs. Please note:
Some of these names may be used for substances or mixtures not containing PCBs.
Many of these names were used with distinguishing suffixes, indicating degree of chlorination, type of formulation, or other properties (e.g., Aroclor 1254; Clophen A60).
Some of these names may be misspellings of the correct names, but are included here for completeness.
PCB Trade Names | |
|---|
| Aceclor | Diaclor | PCB |
| Adkarel | Dicolor | PCB's |
| ALC | Diconal | PCBs |
| Apirolio | Diphenyl, chlorinated | Pheaoclor |
| Apirorlio | DK | Phenochlor |
| Arochlor | Duconal | Phenoclor |
| Arochlors | Dykanol | Plastivar |
| Aroclor | Educarel | Polychlorinated biphenyl |
| Aroclors | EEC-18 | Polychlorinated biphenyls |
| Arubren | Elaol | Polychlorinated diphenyl |
| Asbestol | Electrophenyl | Polychlorinated diphenyls |
| ASK | Elemex | Polychlorobiphenyl |
| Askael | Elinol | Polychlorodiphenyl |
| Askarel | Eucarel | Prodelec |
| Auxol | Fenchlor | Pydrau |
| Bakola | Fenclor | Pyraclor |
| Biphenyl, chlorinated | Fenocloro | Pyralene |
| Chlophen | Gilotherm | Pyranol |
| Chloretol | Hydol | Pyroclor |
| Chlorextol | Hyrol | Pyronol |
| Chlorinated biphenyl | Hyvol | Saf-T-Kuhl |
| Chlorinated diphenyl | Inclor | Saf-T-Kohl |
| Chlorinol | Inerteen | Santosol |
| Chlorobiphenyl | Inertenn | Santotherm |
| Chlorodiphenyl | Kanechlor | Santothern |
| Chlorphen | Kaneclor | Santovac |
| Chorextol | Kennechlor | Solvol |
| Chorinol | Kenneclor | Sorol |
| Clophen | Leromoll | Soval |
| Clophenharz | Magvar | Sovol |
| Cloresil | MCS 1489 | Sovtol |
| Clorinal | Montar | Terphenychlore |
| Clorphen | Nepolin | Therminal |
| Decachlorodiphenyl | No-Flamol | Therminol |
| Delor | NoFlamol | Turbinol |
| Delorene | Non-Flamol | |
| | Olex-sf-d | |
| | Orophene | |
Health Effects of PCBs
PCBs have been demonstrated to cause a variety of adverse health effects. They have been shown to cause cancer in animals as well as a number of serious non-cancer health effects in animals, including: effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine system and other health effects. Studies in humans support evidence for potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects of PCBs. The different health effects of PCBs may be interrelated. Alterations in one system may have significant implications for the other systems of the body. The potential health effects of PCB exposure are discussed in greater detail below.
Cancer
Non-Cancer Effects
Immune Effects
Reproductive Effects
Neurological Effects
Endocrine Effects
Other Non-cancer Effects
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
Cancer
PCBs are one of the most widely studied environmental contaminants. Many studies in animals and human populations have been performed to assess the potential carcinogenicity of PCBs. EPA's first assessment of PCB carcinogenicity was completed in 1987. At that time, data was limited to Aroclor 1260. In 1996, at the direction of Congress, EPA completed a reassessment of PCB carcinogenicity titled "PCBs: Cancer Dose-Response Assessment and Application to Environmental Mixtures". EPA's cancer reassessment reflected the Agency's commitment to the use of the best science in evaluating health effects of PCBs. The reassessment was peer reviewed by 15 experts on PCBs, including scientists from government, academia and industry. The peer reviewers agreed with EPA's conclusion that PCBs are probable human carcinogens.
EPA uses an approach that permits evaluation of the complete carcinogenicity database, and allows the results of individual studies to be viewed in the context of all of the other available studies. Studies in animals provide conclusive evidence that PCBs cause cancer. Studies in humans raise further concerns regarding the potential carcinogenicity of PCBs. Taken together, the data strongly suggest that PCBs are probable human carcinogens.
The cancer reassessment determined that PCBs are probable human carcinogens, based on the following information:
EPA reviewed all of the available literature on the carcinogenicity of PCBs in animals as an important first step in the cancer reassessment, which presented clear evidence that PCBs causes cancer in animals. An industry scientist commented that "all significant studies have been reviewed and are fairly represented in the document". An industry-sponsored peer-reviewed rat study, characterized as the "gold standard study" by one peer reviewer, demonstrated that every commercial PCB mixture tested caused cancer. The new studies reviewed in the PCB reassessment allowed EPA to develop more accurate potency estimates than previously available for PCBs. The reassessment provided EPA with sufficient information to develop a range of potency estimates for different PCB mixtures, based on the incidence of liver cancer and in consideration of the mobility of PCBs in the environment
The reassessment resulted in a slightly decreased cancer potency estimate for Aroclor 1260 relative to the 1987 estimate due to the use of additional dose-response information for PCB mixtures and refinements in risk assessment techniques (e.g., use of a different animal-to-human scaling factor for dose). The reassessment concluded that the types of PCBs likely to be bioaccumulated in fish and bound to sediments are the most carcinogenic PCB mixtures.
In addition to the animal studies, a number of epidemiological studies of workers exposed to PCBs have been performed. Results of human studies raise concerns for the potential carcinogenicity of PCBs. Studies of PCB workers found increases in rare liver cancers and malignant melanoma. The presence of cancer in the same target organ (liver) following exposures to PCBs both in animals and in humans and the finding of liver cancers and malignant melanomas across multiple human studies adds weight to the conclusion that PCBs are probable human carcinogens.
Some of the studies in humans have not demonstrated an association between exposures to PCBs and disease. However, epidemiological studies share common methodological limitations that can affect their ability to discern important health effects (or define them as statistically significant) even when they are present. Often, the number of individuals in a study is too small for an effect to be revealed, or there are difficulties in determining actual exposure levels, or there are multiple confounding factors (factors that tend to co-occur with PCB exposure, including smoking, drinking of alcohol, and exposure to other chemicals in the workplace). Epidemiological studies may not be able to detect small increases in cancer over background unless the cancer rate following contaminant exposure is very high or the exposure produces a very unusual type of cancer. However, studies that do not demonstrate an association between exposure to PCBs and disease should not be characterized as negative studies. These studies are most appropriately viewed as inconclusive. Limited studies that produce inconclusive findings for cancer in humans do not mean that PCBs are safe.
It is very important to note that the composition of PCB mixtures changes following their release into the environment. The types of PCBs that tend to bioaccumulate in fish and other animals and bind to sediments happen to be the most carcinogenic components of PCB mixtures. As a result, people who ingest PCB-contaminated fish or other animal products and contact PCB-contaminated sediment may be exposed to PCB mixtures that are even more toxic than the PCB mixtures contacted by workers and released into the environment.
EPA's peer reviewed cancer reassessment concluded that PCBs are probable human carcinogens. EPA is not alone in its conclusions regarding PCBs. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared PCBs to be probably carcinogenic to humans. The National Toxicology Program has stated that it is reasonable to conclude that PCBs are carcinogenic in humans. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has determined that PCBs are a potential occupational carcinogen.
Non-Cancer Effects
EPA evaluates all of the available data in determining the potential noncarcinogenic toxicity of environmental contaminants, including PCBs. Based on extensive studies conducted using environmentally relevant doses, EPA found clear evidence that PCBs have significant toxic effects in animals, including non-human primates. PCBs can affect an animal’s immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system. The body's regulation of all of these systems is complex and interrelated. As a result, it is not surprising that PCBs can exert a multitude of serious adverse health effects.
Immune Effects
The immune system is critical for fighting infections, and diseases of the immune system have very serious potential implications for the health of humans and animals. The immune effects of PCB exposure have been studied in Rhesus monkeys and other animals. It is important to note that the immune systems of Rhesus monkeys and humans are very similar. Studies in monkeys and other animals have revealed a number of serious effects on the immune system following exposures to PCBs:
Significant decrease in size of the thymus gland, which is critical to the immune system in infant monkeys
Reductions in the response of the immune system following a challenge with sheep red blood cells. This is a standard laboratory test that determines the ability of an animal to mount a primary antibody response and develop protective immunity
Decreased resistance to Epstein-Barr virus and other infections in PCB-exposed animals
Individuals with diseases of the immune system may be more susceptible to pneumonia and viral infections. The animal studies were not able to identify a level of PCB exposure that did not cause effects on the immune system.
In humans, a recent study found that individuals infected with Epstein-Barr virus had a greater association of increased exposures to PCBs. It also increased the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma more than for those who had no Epstein-Barr infection. This finding is consistent with increases in infection with Epstein Barr virus in animals exposed to PCBs.
Since PCBs suppress the immune system and immune system suppression has been demonstrated as a risk factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, suppression of the immune system is a possible mechanism for PCB-induced cancer. Immune effects were also noted in humans who experienced exposure to rice oil contaminated with PCBs, dibenzofurans and dioxins.
Taken together, the studies in animals and humans suggest that PCBs may have serious potential effects on the immune systems of exposed individuals.
Reproductive Effects
Reproductive effects of PCBs have been studied in a variety of animal species, including Rhesus monkeys, rats, mice and mink. Rhesus monkeys are generally regarded as the best laboratory species for predicting adverse reproductive effects in humans. Potentially serious effects on the reproductive system were seen in monkeys and a number of other animal species following exposures to PCB mixtures. Most significantly, PCB exposures were found to reduce the birth weight, conception rates and live birth rates of monkeys and other species; and PCB exposure reduced sperm counts in rats. Effects in monkeys were long lasting and were observed long after the dosing with PCBs occurred.
Studies of reproductive effects have also been carried out in human populations exposed to PCBs. Children born to women who worked with PCBs in factories showed decreased birth weight and a significant decrease in gestational age with increasing exposures to PCBs. Studies in fishing populations believed to have high exposures to PCBs also suggest similar decreases. This same effect was seen in multiple species of animals exposed to PCBs, and suggests that reproductive effects may be important in humans following exposures to PCBs.
Neurological Effects
Proper development of the nervous system is critical for early learning and can have potentially significant implications for the health of individuals throughout their lives. Effects of PCBs on nervous system development have been studied in monkeys and a variety of other animal species. Newborn monkeys exposed to PCBs showed persistent and significant deficits in neurological development, including visual recognition, short-term memory and learning. Some of these studies were conducted using the types of PCBs most commonly found in human breast milk.
Studies in humans have suggested effects similar to those observed in monkeys exposed to PCBs, including learning deficits and changes in activity associated with exposures to PCBs. The similarity in effects observed in humans and animals provide additional support for the potential neurobehavioral effects of PCBs.
Endocrine Effects
There has been significant discussion and research on the effects of environmental contaminants on the endocrine system ("endocrine disruption"). While the significance of endocrine disruption as a widespread issue in humans and animals is a subject of ongoing study, PCBs have been demonstrated to exert effects on thyroid hormone levels in animals and humans. Thyroid hormone levels are critical for normal growth and development, and alterations in thyroid hormone levels may have significant implications.
It has been shown that PCBs decrease thyroid hormone levels in rodents. Research has also shown that these decreases result in developmental deficits in rodents, including deficits in hearing. PCB exposures have been associated with changes in thyroid hormone levels in infants in studies conducted in the Netherlands and Japan. Additional research will be required to determine the significance of these effects in the human population.
Other Non-cancer Effects
A variety of other non-cancer effects of PCBs have been reported, including the following:
Dermal and ocular effects in monkeys and humans
Liver toxicity in rodents
Elevated blood pressure, serum triglyceride and serum cholesterol in humans
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program identifies and characterizes the health hazards of chemicals found in the environment via individual assessments. Each IRIS assessment can cover a chemical, a group of related chemicals, or a complex mixture. The IRIS Program is located within EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) in the Office of Research and Development (ORD). PCBs are a chemical where IRIS has completed a primary assessment and additional assessment work is ongoing.
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