Airborne PCBs and OH-PCBs Inside and Outside Urban and Rural U.S. Schools

Abstract

PCBs appear in school air because many school buildings were built when PCBs were still intentionally added to building materials and because PCBs are also present through inadvertent production in modern pigment. This is of concern because children are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of PCBs. Here we report indoor and outdoor air concentrations of PCBs and OH-PCBs from two rural schools and four urban schools, the latter near a PCB-contaminated waterway of Lake Michigan in the United States. Samples (n=108) were collected as in/out pairs using polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) from January 2012 to November 2015. Samples were analyzed using GC/MS-MS for all 209 PCBs and 72 OH-PCBs. Concentrations inside schools were one to two orders of magnitude higher than outdoors and ranged 0.5–194 ng/m3 (PCBs) and 4–665 pg/m3 (OH-PCBs). Congener profiles were similar within each sampling location across season but different between schools and indicated the sources as Aroclors from building materials and individual PCBs associated with modern pigment. This study is the first cohort-specific analysis to show that some children’s PCB inhalation exposure may be equal to or higher than their exposure through diet.

Genetic differences in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and CYP1A2 affect sensitivity to developmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure in mice: relevance to studies of human neurological disorders

“…PCBs are also considered endocrine disrupters with reported effects including impaired reproduction and reduction of circulating thyroid hormone levels (UNEP 2001; ATSDR 2015). Despite numerous bans on commercial production (UNEP 2001), PCBs remain ubiquitous in the environment and the food supply (Gomara et al 2005; Langer et al 2007; Marek et al 2017). New PCB sources have recently been identified, including their inadvertent production during the manufacture of paint pigments (Hu and Hornbuckle 2010) and the discovery of PCBs in and around many U.S. schools (Marek et al 2017).…”

“…Despite numerous bans on commercial production (UNEP 2001), PCBs remain ubiquitous in the environment and the food supply (Gomara et al 2005; Langer et al 2007; Marek et al 2017). New PCB sources have recently been identified, including their inadvertent production during the manufacture of paint pigments (Hu and Hornbuckle 2010) and the discovery of PCBs in and around many U.S. schools (Marek et al 2017). Because PCBs are lipophilic and can bioaccumulate and biomagnify, the risk to pregnant women and their offspring is expected to remain high for years to come (Quinn et al 2011; Bányiová et al 2017).…”

AhrandCyp1a2genotypes both affect susceptibility to motor deficits following gestational and lactational exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls

“…Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread persistent organic pollutants linked to numerous human 25 health problems, with the most serious effects seen in children of exposed mothers (Ross 2004 PCBs near rural and urban schools (Marek et al 2017). PCBs will remain a problem for generations because 33 highly exposed cohorts are now reaching reproductive age (Bányiová et al 2017, Quinn et al 2011).…”

Genetic differences in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and CYP1A2 affect susceptibility to developmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure in mice: Relevance to studies of human neurological disorders

“…Polychlorinated biphenyls are persistent organic pollutants linked to numerous adverse health effects in humans, including immune suppression, endocrine disruption, and neurological deficits (ATSDR 2015). Despite numerous bans on commercial production, PCBs remain ubiquitous in the environment and the food supply (Gomara et al 2005;Langer et al 2007;Malisch and Kotz 2014;Marek et al 2017). New PCB sources have recently been identified, including their inadvertent production during the manufacture of paint pigments (Hu & Hornbuckle 2010) and the discovery of PCBs in and around many U.S. schools (Marek et al 2017).…”

“…Despite numerous bans on commercial production, PCBs remain ubiquitous in the environment and the food supply (Gomara et al 2005;Langer et al 2007;Malisch and Kotz 2014;Marek et al 2017). New PCB sources have recently been identified, including their inadvertent production during the manufacture of paint pigments (Hu & Hornbuckle 2010) and the discovery of PCBs in and around many U.S. schools (Marek et al 2017). Because PCBs are lipophilic and can bioaccumulate and biomagnify, the risk to pregnant women and their offspring is expected to remain high for years to come (Quinn et al 2011;Bányiová et al 2017).…”