Environmental fate and global distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are synthetic chlorinated organic chemicals. They are environmentally widespread and persistent and are routinely found in air, water, sediments, and soils. Moreover, they accumulate through the food chain from aquatic organisms to fish and to humans. PCBs are complex mixtures of individual chlorobiphenyls. The low reactivity and high chemical stability of the PCBs have made them useful for numerous industrial applications; the qualities that make many individual chlorobiphenyls industrially useful, however, render them more persistent and less environmentally desirable than many other organic chemicals. There is growing concern about the trace quantities of highly chlorinated organic compounds (e.g., dioxins, PCBs, and certain pesticides) that exist in diverse environmental media (air, soil, water, and biota). Such halogenated organic compounds enter the food chain from environmental media, mainly through intake of animal or fish fats (meat, fish, and milk), and reach humans and wildlife. © 2009 Springer-Verlag US.