Document B5EDMYE84Bj3B082NOJoNqw4m

i 41-6SFTECHNICAL SURVEY why. : __ _ ___ oumo avy acT a 1977 IsasasJ " ' '" *MOW/ Two ilecterial strides Urn break down PCB'i into bemoic add or lit chlorides have been Isolated In Japan. Workers at the govt's Fermentation Research Institute near Tokyo found the microbes in a sludge sample taken from a Wisconsin lake. Alctligcnes Y42 and Acinetobacter P6, the Institute says, convert PCB's into biphenyl or p-cholorbiphenyl in enzymecatalyzed reactions, then metabolize these intermediates to benzoic acid or its chlorides. The bacteria can decompose most of the 100-odd PCB isomers, but further work is needed before their practical use in destroying PCB stocks can begin. Japanese production of PCB's was canned in 1972. and Monsanto, the sole US producer, has restricted sales since 1970 to controllable uses-- such as dielectric fluid for high-voltage capacitors and transformer coolant--in which PCB's are maintained in the electrical iiidustnr. Federal law requires PCB production to end in the US in I97{, , , Like DDT, PCB's are highly stable but toxic materials^ that concentrate in the food chain once they arc released in the environment. High-temperature incineration at sea has been considered the only practical method of destroying existing stocks. ' ChemMktR 9/26/77j MONS 000905