Document aJjZp0QLon6KvkB8B91VQ6Y1a

a.Tx`1 ci Ccr-'-ianinur. . 5 i FCR RSIZA52 AIKIL 10 -- 11:00 A.:*. FCk FUlTIiEk EffiCK-iATICK CALL; Jules Rothstaia (212) 536-803G KM If 7 7 ft JJ ?. ? *>.TL -7 V.:-! " ' 5 iU U--:i if* I-?' / . ' !>j . tr jr'ii JU a a bi-suix ..___ __ 0 llvk. />r`. yjA-- \ // ..*L H't-ix' Hf!./..--.;. -:,,, , ui/Li.'urt ^ Si. Xt<it*a:u i'S'/fe. -V. `i*X>2 AM ENTOUMlEHIAL KA7.AKD KurCRT " From Congresstwn Willi3n 7. kyan The Perilous Plastics: Fact Sheet on Polychlorinated Biphenyls (IC2s) mm Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCSs) arc chemical compounds sar.ufaeCured in the United States by the Monsanto Company under the trade, nenc AKCCLCF.. PC3a and their residues arc extremely toxic to fish, birds, acinals and humans. ) They have a direct action on the shin, producing a severe form of acne. They may produce a variety of effects ranging fres nausea and loss of weight to increased respiration, levered red blook cell count sad inhibi tion of carbohydrate metabolism. More serious effects are those on the kidneys. The principal effect, however, is on the liver (possibly leading to atrophy, followed by death). Aa FCHs are not soluble in water, they are (like DDT) very persistent in the environment. Thia insolubility factor cakes PCBs capable of being widely distributed over the earth via air- currents.. (Upon being ingested by animals or humans, they ara soluble in fat.) PCBs, especially those of high, chlorine content, resist biological breakdown.. Cnee released, they arc a long-term hazard. . A Mystery Pollutant PCBs have recently been ideacificdi/ aa the mystery 'pollutant,. similar to DDT and sometime* mistaken for It,, found in analyses of pesti- " . . ft cidc residues. _m Soren Jensen asJ Gunnar Widmark, Swedish scientists,, reported in 1956 'I ~ .. that these ' chlorine-containin- * g compounds were PCSs. Jensen and- iriumsrk had found PCBs in fish and sea birds,, in conifer, needles, ur.d in seme samples of human fat. ' *. Monte Kirven, of the San Diego natural History Museum, in studying DDT compounds present in the eggs of Peregrine falcons, found, this asms 1/ ~n'Hrc:ir.o;.s. Jan.-Feb., 197C, Mn-rc letters in the Kind'. by 5v* 7\Ci>XZ Riscuorough -r.ii V*rini 2rodincr ?? 16-^7. DSW 201357 STLCOPCB4059422 eatuKiw. compound. l'crninting, he found the Swedish papers and, with further laboratory writ, identified the trouble-maker as PCSs. hintr-! v* ^icn in the "n?: Tonnenc rC2s have found in widely distributed samples of marine birds, the fish ok which -marine birds prey, freshwater fish and terrestrial birds. Cut, by far the most frightening hamrtf is the effect of PCBe on human beings. * "U' ` * PCBs may be taken into the body by direct action upon the shin or as a vapor taken through the respiratory tract. The effect cn the skin is chJ.oracr.c. The early sympcnms are pimples and dark pigmentation} later, more serious eruptions. Persons who have been continuously exposed to PCBs may suffer nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, edema and abdominal pain. The most severe effects are jaundice and atrophy of the liver. Experiments with laboratory animals confirm the high toxicity of PCBa when injected, fed, or applied to the skin .-2/ ' PC3s -have been detected in citrus peel3 and in citrus fruits. The probable source of this contamination is the biphenyl-impregnated wrapping. (Fruit pulp: 0.01 to 0.90 ppm; peel: 1.0 to. 475 ppm; whole fruits: .2 to 121 ppm). Humans can ingest FCBs in such contaminated foods; or, it say be possible chat, they could absorb these compounds through the- akin from, the handling or friction-wearing of the wrappings.. The uses of biphenyls recommended by the Monsanto Company (see excerpts freo the Monsanto Company's Technical Bulletin C/P1-3C6) ara so varied sad cs-irprahensiva that hardly anyone can escape contact with them. Besides wrapping for fruits, they are used in the coatings of bottles, "edge-resistant paper, fire-resistant and fire-retardant compounds, pfcocothcrmegracphic copy sheets, decorative sparkling plastics, asphalt, adhesives, ink, paraffin, resins, rubber, paints, pesticides, sealing coiOTOunds, aluminum foil, cellophane, polyester film, paper, and oiivn- tirab canvas for tents, tarpaulins, etc,, etc. Hot-: do enter the Ecological System? It is possible that, in the manufacture of fCSa, vapors or particles are released to the environment. In answer to questions about stack control, Monsanto merely states that "extensive efforts are in practice...to prevent PCB DS\N 201358 STLCOPCB4059423 3 In public statements, Monsanto claims that PCEs are being used in closed systems, such as in hydraulic fluids and it also admits to "several applications" where BC33 arc made part of a solid material. TJc knew that hydranlic oil escapes to the environment. Thera is also the danger from friction-contact; tih plastic food wrappings and from the wear and weathering of tho solid materials, producing ECBo in the form of tiny particles or vaporous mattnr. . Most containers, such as plastic wrappings, bottles, etc., must eventually be destroyed, cither in home or municipal incinerators. At tho high temperatures, necessary to burn municipal wastes, PCBs may be released to the atmosphere as vapors and- fumes, which would be- highly toxic. The burning would produce oxides of FCBs, more toxic than the unoxidized. STLCOPCB4059424