Document Ny3qyNO5rMLj6dK29wGgv9vy

by John Noble and Harry Rothman la September last year the corpses of over 8,000 sea birds were washed up on oar coasts from Northern Ireland, Ayrshire, Crnnbcrtund, I Lancashire to North Wiln. We way never fully umlerMand how thk dlxasler came about for only eight of the dead birds were properly examined for toxic chemicals etc. However, they all contained larger than usual amounts of one particular compound. polychlorinated htphenvl m IH 'll. To most uNiniNlhh the name IH il meant nothing. Tor thk mourn we fwl thot M h nmlhwhlte Miimmio klnit the current slate of hiumleilue of environmental |Hllntton hy l*t 'IT PCli is not a single compound bic. a iicn.-ui mime for a wfnle family of iomp.>\.nds with a common basic struc ture. Mixtures of PCE compounds June interesting properties enabling them to be used in diverse technical areas. Our awareness of the ecological implications of PCB is comparatively rcccr.l and so it comes as a surprise to many people that commercial manu facture of PCB was begun as far back as 1929 by the Chemical Company of America, It was noted recently that the effects of exposure to PCB are not limited only to the immediate location of its use. Since then PCB production has spread to most major industrial coun tries, including Britain. Mongxnto are still the major manufacture^ere and market PCB mixtures under the trade name Arochlor. PCB is made by adding chlorine to biphenyls, terphenyls and other more complex poly-phenyls. Chlorination is done in special cylindrical steel towers three feet in diameter and eighteen feet high using special catalysts and heat. The technical uses of PCB depend on their great chemical stability and sjxscial physical properties, which may be varied to suit specific applications. PCB has a number of uses in the elec trical industry, in paints and varnishes where they have a similar role to oil except that they do not oxidise and lose their flexibility with age. Resinous products of PCB are an integral part of synthetic adhesives. Lubricants for use under extreme conditions often contain PCB. The national and international pro duction figures for PCB have never been published but we can see from the list of its applications that PCB Is used on a large scale. For such a widely used compound, toxicological data were pretty sparse, yet it was noticed recently that the circus of cxpoimro to PCM are not lim ited only to tlte immediate location of tin use. AllWfn skin wntl liver In (lie Mamlnrd text on industrixl lotkologv, /'ii.v ftrofH'rtirs of in ilhf/riitl i fii'niiiiilt by Sax, IVIJ Is re pot.ee to "ha\c I'vu di%ii: u ac.: n* on .ho body. nanv.iy ... ski: cl!:o . nd a tox.c act.on on me liver. Ti e Ij- on prodi.ccd in the liver is an acute y :i,ow atrop.iy... The higher tie chhiine content of the diphenyl ( = biphenyl) compound, (he more toxic it ix liable to be... The skin lesion is known as chlorachc, and consists of small pimples and dark pigmentation of the exposed areas initially. Later comedones and pustules develop. In persons who have suffered from systemic intoxication the usual signs and symptoms arc nausea, vomiting and loss of weight, jaundice, edema and abdominal pain. Where the liver damage is severe the patient may pass into a coma and die. PCB is also recognised as a disaster hazard, for highly toxic fumes are given off when it is heated to decomposition. Of course these are acute effects resulting from exposure to very high concentrations. Such a danger could only arise in the event of an industrial accident" A very disturbing finding about the biological effects of PCB is that they can have an Insidious effect on (be hormonal system of birds. Hormones are vital in co-ordinating the complex biochemical reactions of living organ isms. Any interference with the normal body-regulating effects of hormones could have a profound effect on an organism, for (hey control rates of growth, ultimate body size and shape, masculinity or femininity, menial and physical alertness. Effect on birda The way in which PCB interferes with the hormonal systems of birds, is com plex and not yet fully understood. Only a small quantity of PCB can speed up the production of certain enzymes produced by small bodies in the liver, a process called enzyme in duction. As a result, the talc um meta bolism so vital in egg production, is disturbed. This information becomes crucial when it is realised that PCf> has been found throughout much of the globt. environment, even in mcasurab.. amounts (0.06 parts per million) :n mother's milk samples in California. Fnvironmcmul scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about any chemicals which can persist in the en vironment and be accumulated along (ihvI chains. How do they get into the environment and what lung term toxic hazard do they present even in very 11 MONS 032310 PCB.has been found throughout much of the global livers, fat and eggs ol birds, particu or his whole family, inc-cding .. five larly terrestrial predators such as spar n.omh old baby. Jensen looked for row hawks and kestrefe-, and in marine PCB in eagle feathers in a museum and environment, even in feeders like guillemots and kittiwakes. only found it in specimens cauga'. after measurable amounts in mother's milk samples in California. They were also found in fresh water fish. Small amounts were detected in human fat samples, though in much smaller proportions than in (he birds. 1944. This is probably indicative of how long PCB bas been an environ mental contaminant. A little later, the British workers, Holmes. Simmons and In 1966 workers in Scotland found the Tatton, announced that the previously minute doses? In many ways PCB re- same compounds in fish and seals in unidentified compounds associated serables DDT and related orguio- Scottish waters, the levels were low in with analyses (or organochlorine In chlorine insecticides. They are both fat* the fish, whereas in the seals they cor secticides were PCB. Their findings soluble, persistent and able to induce responded to the larger levels found in were repeated in the Netherlands and liver microsomal enzymes. They are birds. North America and soon PCB was fairly close chemical relatives and their The solution to the mystery of the found to be distributed throughout liv ecological properties are UtetaUy Inter* identity of the compounds was pro ing creatures in the Northern Hemi woven. vided by a Swedish sciential. Soren sphere. History of PCB pollution Jensen. At the end of 1966, the New Scientist reported that Jensen had More PCB In MurtrUI arena The tragic post-war decline of certain found PCB in pike, and also in the hair Riseborough and his American col- species of birds of prey and sea birds in many parts of the world is now well known. The story of the discovery of $onsanto takes a big stepPCB pollution intimately related to X the unravelling of the mystery of this1 decline. The chemicals implicated in the of the pollution does not exist In the late 1950s, Derek Ratcliffe of massive slaughter of seabirds in the PCB manufacture stage. the Nature Conservancy sounded the off the north-west coast last The only piece in Britain where first warnings about the mysterious de cline of the British peregrine popula tion, When other birds of prey were similarly studied it was found that the golden eagle waa declining ia Western Scotland. Much circumstantial evi autumn may soon be the subject of a voluntary ban.Monsanto Chemicals, one of the principal manufacturers of the industrial chemicals PCBs are produced--under the market name of Arachlor 1254 --is at Monsanto's Newport, Monmouthshire plant. But the production process is dry and dence pointed to organochlorioe in polychlorinated biphenyls-- do PCB waste goes down the secticide residues as the guilty agent and appropriate changes in the use of these compounds prevented e complete disaster. Ratcliffe also noted behav ioural changes in the peregrine, birds known as PCBs--is trying to get other manufacturers to limit the application of the product. Monsanto want PCBs plant's pipeline into the Bristol Channel. Monsanto will have to work hard to get co-operation, if eating their eggs, increased incidence to be confined to closed-system only because rival of broken eggs. He also showed that uses, like its application in manufacturers are of different the thickness of egg shells had de creased during the period since dm introduction of orgsnochlorioe insecti cides. This was the first evidence that the resulting widespread change hi the chemical environment had in some way electrical insulations. This would mean a ban on the use of PCBs in paints and varnishes and coatings. It is this second type of nationality. But the value of a voluntary ban is highlighted by the recent disclosure of the Government Chemist. In his annual report, he reveals affected the calcium metabolism of the usage that causes the pollution. that the highest ever birds. These events initiated routine anal yses of wiid-iife cadavers in Britain. It was during these analyses for organochlorine pesticide residues that several workers noticed the presence of strange Factory waste pipes leak PCBs while manufacturing or using paints and surface coatings. The chemicals are carried in effluent into the sea where it is concentration of PCBs has been found in wildlife by his laboratory. The Chemist gives the results of an analysis of PCB levels in herons. Levels organochlortne compounds which they could not identify. These unidentified compounds were so similar to DDT etc., that they actually interfered with DDT measurements causing a certain amount of confusion. The unknown believed that unusual weather conditions can cause local concentrations. The amount of PCBs in these concentrations is still very low, but it can be more than twice the previously recorded "highs" in seabirds were found. This is very disturbing, given the effects of PCBs on calcium compounds occurred most frequently lethal. metabolism. and in the largest proportions in the Without a doubt the source Jeremy dugler HONS 032311 ?CB >)>s^ss>e$ great chemical stability and is therefore highly persistent once it escapes into the environment. It is likely that a steady build-up is occurring. leagues have reported that die highest levels of PCB arc found in wild life from industrialised areas. In the few land birds and fresh water species ex amined by American scientists PCB was found, and it is quite likely that the compound is now distributed in (he continental ecosystems of the United States. Exactly how PCB gets into wild life is not yet known, for unlike organochiorine insecticides. PCB is not de liberately sprayed into ecosystems. There arc however several possibilities. The fact that PCB residues are gener ally highest in creatures living near to industrial areas, leads us to suspect that PCB might escape from the fac tories manufacturing or using it. It could be released in effluent or PCBcontaining hydraulic oils into the rivers, cvcmuolly reaching the sea. Another potential PCB source is air pollution. It has been suggested that transport by air currents explains the presence of PCB in remote regions like Alaska. As far as we know no one has recorded and measured the presence of PCB in the air. It might escape into the atmos phere during its manufacture at a point when high temperatures are reached. Alternatively, the burning of waste containing PCB may lead to atmos- )U*iv pollution. T v N.imstry of Housnj a:id Local Go'eminent has jurtoci j research project to examine the sources of PCB pollution which will no doubt throw more light on this prob lem. Long term effects? PCB possesses great chemical stability and is therefore highly persistent once it escapes into the environment. It is likely that a steady build-up is occur ring. Small amounts of PCB have been shown experimentally to have sublethal physiological effects on birds, and small amounts are now found in people. Will they have any Jong term toxic effect? Nobody knows, but do we have to wait? The best move might be to suspend further use of PCB in industrial processes until one has estab lished its effects on ecosystems and human health. Such ftnn action would also act as a spur to industry to work more seriously In the future on the ecological implications of their action. "lie .ur.iOM .VviJ.iul m nv',,, ?CB ,kIIui.o:i was jive us great con.iJcrvc n tv pre-:ri environmental monitoring efio.l. 'A ilc life populations are a* someone once said "our miner's ca.itiry", hut only very rarely is there t.k necessary in formation about population Jynuraki to say with any accuracy wnether a particular population is behaving in a peculiar fashion. It ii necessary to fin ance. on a world scale, studies of a carefully selected range of species r,' that we can biologically monitor en vironmental changes. Any change >n the numbers, behaviour or chemical composition of an indicator population would be noted and its cause searched for. It is a priority task, and the scsic of activity in such monitoring ought at least to be tied to the Incrasing ra e of industrial activity. The cos. of suih a "doomwitch" activity rm.\ be hicr.. but if It helps tnanldrc to j'oid larv scale ecological disasters, it is a pri;c that has to be paid. SYSTEMATICS Journal of the Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and the Sciences Editors }. G. Bennett and Kajil S. Schaftck Vol. VIII No. 3 Decenaer, 1970. MIND AND MATTER J. G. Bennett //* t h`.niirJ O, is ii graduate m /.mli'u.N. and lias a deep interest in ecology and its political implications. He leciuivs in the Department of Liberal Studies in Science. Manchester University cn the social rotations of science and technology. In 197] his book on Industrial Society and Pollu tion will he published by Hart-Davis in UK jnd Bobbs-Mcrill in USA. THE AMBIGUITY OF `ONE1 AND TWO' IN THE DESCRIPTION OF YOUNG'S EXPERIMENT H. Bortuft WILL TYPE INVESTIGATION G. H idwards IDEA DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCEMENT IN ENGINEERING E. Match .-it John Noble, aged 22, graduated from the Liberal Studies in Science Depart ment Inst vrar (197ft). There he read `'wiener tirenis" mi honours course k-w.ti\l io develop "Mientitie ivnrrat* The Journal is published quarterly in March, June, September ant. December. Siilvscriplion rates arc 13s. otl. ($2.00) per copy or 2. IOs Od. <17 50) per anm.m. Vulwripitons, contributions or correspondence to; The Eunort, Systemai.o, 2.1 Brunswick Rot*', Kingston-upon-Thumct, Surrey, England. 14 MOWS 032312