United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Off ice of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Publication 9230.0-05FSf
September 1992
Superfund Fact Sheet:
PCBs
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Hazardous Site Control Division (5203G)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
What are PCBs?
How are people
exposed to PCBs?
-It
Many chemicals are found at Superfund hazardous waste sites. The Superfund
Program's mission includes identifying the chemicals, evaluating their potential
health effects on the people who live, work, or play nearby, keeping the public
informed, and supervising the cleanup of the site.
This fact sheet is one in a series produced by the Superfund Program. It is intended
for readers with no formal scientific training. It is based on a Toxicological Profile
prepared in 1989 by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (U.S.
Public Health Service).
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are a family of man-made chemicals that
includes 209 different compounds, some more poisonous than others. Insulating
and nonflammable, PCBs were widely used as coolants and lubricants in trans-
formers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment. The manufacture of PCBs was
halted in the United States in October 1977 because of evidence that they
accumulate in the environment and may cause health hazards. PCBs decompose
or decay very slowly, so they are widely distributed throughout the environment.
Once in the air, PCBs can be carried long distances; they have been found in snow
and seawater in the Antarctic. One of the products of the thermal breakdown of
PCBs (that could occur, for example, if an incinerator were burning at a low
temperature) is dioxin. Dioxin is a toxic chemical under close scrutiny by EPA.
This fact sheet addresses seven selected classes of PCBs, which include 98 percent
of PCBs sold in the United States since 1970. These classes are known in the United
States by their industrial trade name, Aroclor. This profile covers Aroclor-1260,
1254,1248,1242,1232,1221, and 1016. (The last two numbers in the trade name
indicate the percentage of chlorine in the compound.)
PCBs have not been manufactured in the U.S. since 1977, but their continued
presence in existing electrical equipment means that people and the environment
are still exposed to low-level emissions. The persistence of PCBs means background
levels can be measured in outdoor air, on soil surfaces, and in water. Nearly
everyone has some internal level of PCBs, including infants who drink breast milk
containing PCBs.
Higher levels of PCB exposure usually come from:
• Leaks or fugitive emissions from electrical transformers, capacitors, or old
fluorescent lighting fixtures;
• Fish or shellfish, which accumulate high concentrations of PCBs from contami-
nated waters;
• Dumping or improper disposal of PCB-containing consumer products or PCB
wastes, such as transformer fluids; and
US EPA-AWBERC LIBRARY
30701 100533246
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Poorly maintained toxic waste sites that contain PCBs.
PCBs have been found in about 20 percent of the hazardous waste sites on the
National Priorities List (NPL).
In conducting site investigations, EPA may determine that although PCBs are
found at a site, there is little chance that people will come into contact with
them. If there is no probability of exposure to the PCBs, and there is no reason
to believe that there will be in the future, then the PCBs at the site poses no
risk.
The type of health problems an individual might experience depends on the
chemical, how much of the chemical a person is exposed to and how long the
exposure lasts. Some chemicals are harmful in small amounts and other chemi-
cals are not harmful even in very large amounts.
How do PCBs get Into
the body?
PCBs enter the body through contaminated food and air and through skin contact.
Eating fish and shellfish from PCB-contaminated water is the most common way
people get exposed. Exposure from drinking water is minimal, because PCBs do not
dissolve easily in water.
IS there a medical test Although EPA does not generally conduct tests, there are tests to determine PCBs
to determine exposure in the blood, body fat, and breast milk. These tests are not routine clinical tests, but
to PCBs? they can detect PCBs in members of the general population as well as in workers
with occupational exposure to PCBs.
If you believe you have been exposed to PCBs, contact your physician. He or she can
best decide what tests or treatment are necessary.
How can PCBs affect
people's health?
Animal experiments have shown that some PCB mixtures produce adverse health
effects that include liver damage, skin irritations, reproductive and developmental
effects, and cancer. Also, there have been serious cases of poisoning in Japan from
chemicals comparable to PCBs. Therefore, it is reasonable and prudent to consider
that PCBs may be health hazards for people.
So far, human studies have shown that chloracne, a serious and long-lasting acne-
like skin irritation, can occur in PCB-exposed workers. (If your physician deter-
mines that you have chloracne, he or she should inform EPA—they may be able to
trace the exposure to a specific site. The telephone number for the EPA Community
Relations Coordinator for your state is listed at the end of this fact sheet.) Other
studies of people with occupational exposure suggest that PCBs may cause liver
cancer. Reproductive and developmental effects may also be related to occupational
exposure and consumption of contaminated fish. While the role of PCBs in
producing cancer, reproductive, and developmental effects in humans cannot yet be
clearly proven, the suggestive evidence provides an additional basis for public
health concern about PCB exposure.
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What recommendations
has the Federal
government made to
protect human health?
Several Federal agencies have developed guidelines for PCB exposure. The Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has specified PCB concentration limits in infant
foods, eggs, milk, and poultry fat.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set permissible
occupational exposure limits for an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended even more stringent
occupational exposure limits. EPA has also developed guidelines for the concentra-
tions of PCBs in ambient water (e.g., lakes and rivers) and in drinking water that
are associated with cancer and non-cancer health risks.
At specific Superfund sites, EPA makes every effort to monitor PCB levels and
safeguard public health. EPA investigators determine if there are excessive levels
of PCBs, what risks they pose for people, and how the cleanup can bring these levels
to approved limits. While the cleanup is underway, temporary safety measures may
need to be offered. For example, if PCBs have made their way into drinking water,
an alternate source may have to be supplied, or if PCBs have entered the food chain,
consumption of affected fish, animals, or milk may have to be banned.
Where can I QOt more This fact sheet has been designed to provide general information on PCBs. More
Information on this information about PCBs at a specific site is available from the Community
Chemical? Relations Coordinator (CRC) for each EPA Region. Community Relations Offices
are listed on the back of this fact sheet
For additional technical details and a review of current research, see the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Toxicological Profile for PCBa. Informa-
tion on obtaining this profile is available by calling the Agency's Toxicology
Information Service, at (404) 639-6000. The information service is accessible 24
hours per day by touchtone phone.
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Regional Superfund Community Relations Offices
Region 1
Superfund Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs
EPA Region 1 (RPA-74)
#1 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-3425
Region 2
Community Relations Branch
External Programs Division
EPA Region 2 (2-EPD)
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
(212)264-7054
Region 3
Superfund Community Relations
Office of External Affairs
EPA Region 3 (3EA21)
841 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 597-9905
Region 4
Superfund Community Relations
Waste Management Division
EPA Region 4
345 Courtland Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30365
(404) 347-2643
Region 5
Superfund Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs
EPA Region 5
Metcalfe Federal Bldg.
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
(312)353-2073
Region 6
Superfund Community Relations
Hazardous Waste Mgmt. Division
EPA Region 6 (6H-SS)
1445 Ross Avenue
12th Floor. ,Suite 1200
031138,1^75270
(214) 655-2240
Region 7
Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs
EPA Region 7
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City , KS 66101
(913) 551-7003
Region 8
Community Relations Branch
Office of External Affairs
EPA Region 8 (80EA)
1 Denver Place
999 18th Street, Suite 1300
Denver, CO 80202
(303)294-1144
Region 9
Superfund Community Relations
Hazardous Waste Mgmt. Division
EPA Region 9(7-1-3)
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 744-2178
Region 10
Community Relations Section
Hazardous Waste Division
EPA Region 10 (HW117)
1200 6th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 553-6901
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency (5203G)
Washing ton. DC 20460
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