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Polychlorinated Biphenyls — Human Health Effects

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Hazards, Decontamination, and Replacement of PCB

Abstract

Commercial polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are formulations prepared by the chlorination of biphenyl.1–4 The chlorine content of the products are directly dependent on the relative amount of Cl2 used in the reaction process and commercial formulations with variable chlorine content have been produced and marketed. Most of the producers market PCB formulations with a variable chlorine content, for example, Aroclor 1221 and 126ø, two commercial PCBs produced by the Monsanto Chemical Corporation contain 21 and 6ø% chlorine by weight. The degree of biphenyl chlorination significantly alters the properties of these industrial mixtures and this variability accounts for their widespread applications. The highly versatile PCBs have enjoyed a diverse use Pattern which takes advantage of their wide range of physical properties, their chemical stability and miscibility with organic compounds. These characteristics have resulted in the use of PCBs as hydraulic fluids, plasticizers, adhesives, heat transfer fluids, wax extenders, dedusting agents, organic dilutents/extenders, lubricants, flame retardants, and as dielectric fluids in capacitors and transformers. The detection of PCBs in the environment resulted in a voluntary restriction ban on all “open” uses of these compounds whereas their use as dielectric fluids (“closed”) was permitted until the late 197øs. Although total world production figures for PCBs are not readily available, it has been estimated that approximately 1.4 × 1ø9 lbs was produced in the U.S. during the period 193ø to 1975.

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  1. Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    S. Safe

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  1. Hydro-Quebec Research Institute, Varennes, Canada

    Jean-Pierre Crine

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© 1988 Plenum Press, New York

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Safe, S. (1988). Polychlorinated Biphenyls — Human Health Effects. In: Crine, JP. (eds) Hazards, Decontamination, and Replacement of PCB. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0747-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0747-1_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8062-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0747-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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