PCBs and Resistance to Disease

PCBs and the danger they posed to the environment gained more attention in the public sphere in the latter half of the twentieth century, as thscientific studies began to corroborate their harmful effects. This evidence soon disseminated by journalists and activists to the public.

The document we are highlighting today is an article by John Lannan, published by The Evening Star in 1970. Lannan draws attention to a study done by scientists at the University of Wisconsin on the relationship between PCBs and resistance to disease:

The results were also remarkably conclusive and definitive. Lannan writes that PCBs were found to cause both weight gain and increased mortality rates within the ducks tested. Furthermore, the article notes that the results of this study were widely applicable to other toxic chemicals, including DDT and dieldrin.

Although awareness the dangers of PCBs continued to grow into the 1970s, PCBs were not banned by the United States until 1979.