PCBs (Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls)
Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are a large group of man-made chemicals that were first commercially manufactured in 1929 but were banned or very limited in most countries in the 1970s and 1980s due to concerns over their impact on the environment and by extension human health. About 2 million tonnes of PCBs were produced with roughly a tenth of that still in the environment.
PCBs are heat-resistant and also resist breakdown by acids and bases, making them ideal for use in electric equipment like capacitors and transformers as well as lubricants. They were also used in inks, paints, flame retardants and coatings.
Ranging from oily liquids to waxy solids, there are 209 Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyl congeners — too many to routinely test for. Consequently, a suite of seven was initially selected by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as a screen for monitoring biota and sediment samples. They were chosen because they make up about a fifth of the PCBs in commercially made mixtures. Later, the EU’s Community Bureau of Reference recommended it for monitoring PCBs in the environment.
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.
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.
In their heyday, PCBs were widely manufactured and sold as mixtures of several congeners and marketed under a variety of trade names, including:
- Aroclor, Pyranol, Pyroclor (US)
- Phenochlor, Pyralene (France)
- Clophen, Elaol (Germany)
- Kanechlor, Santotherm (Japan)
- Fenchlor, Apirolio (Italy)
- Sovol (USSR)
In Summary:
SOURCES: Electric equipment (capacitors, transformers etc), lubricants, inks, paints, flame retardants and coatings.
RISKS: Increased risk of certain cancers of the digestive tract, liver and skin; reproductive deficiencies, such as reduced growth rates, retarded development, and certain neurological effects; immune system damage; chloracne and pigmentation disturbances.
Note: PCBs are sometimes also referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment but that description is most often used to refer to PFAS (most often PFOS and PFOA), which are covered by our Forever Chemicals Suite.
SHIPPING INFO
We will send you a testing kit that includes small amber jars (these need to be filled right to the top because some of the elements we are testing for can interact with air) as well as instructions on how to take samples from your growing space. When you're done, place the full jars back in the box that will have a pre-paid postage label already affixed, seal it and pop the package into a Royal Mail post box or drop it off at a local post office.