Document mp1R2d1bebjJMeMqpD3ZZ8LVd

No Link Between PCB and Huain Cncr According to New Scientific Study Ike following will be released to the news Media at approximately 3:00 p.a.est. August 27. 1981. An extensive review of the human health experience with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) has cleared the chemicals of their "deadly toxin" and "cancer-causing" labels. The latest scientific research, released today, fails to establish a link between human cancer and PCBs. Dr. William R. Gaffey, who conducted the research, said that, while studies have shown that exposure to PCBs can cause temporary skin problems, "there are no clinically observable effects including the occurrence of cancer." Dr. Gaffey, manager of epidemiology for Monsanto Company, presented his findings before members of the American Chemical' Society who are meeting this week in New York. "The one fact on which all occupational studies of health effects agree is that there has been no clinical illness associated with PCB exposure other than dermatitis (skin disorder)," Dr. Gaffey said. "Studies of non-occupationally exposed populations have found neither dermatitis nor other clinical evidence of exposurerelated effects." Dr. Gaffey told his audience that people exposed to PCBs through their work could have higher levels of PCBs in their blood than others. Consequently, occupational exposure to PCBs at high levels is associated with the occurrence of the skin disorder chloracne. "However, the relationship is not straightforward and suggests that the actual risk of chloracne is also a function of individual susceptibility and personal work habits," Dr. Gaffey said. - In reaching his conclusions. Dr. Gaffey conducted an extensive review of over two dozen published and unpublished epidemiologic studies. The studies have been performed by a number of scientists in the United States and abroad including those from federal and state governmental agencies, universities and medical schools. "The PCB studies were broken down into three categories," Dr. Gaffey said. "Accidental, heavy exposures with short and long-term health effects; the relationship between exposure and the accumulation of the substance in the body; and studies of populations that were known or suspected of being exposed to the chemical." PCBs, formerly manufactured by Monsanto, were used primarily as fire-resistant insulating fluids in electrical transformers and capacitors. For more than 40 years, their use was required in most high-rise buildings, schools and hospitals where the risks of fire or explosion were major concerns. Monsanto voluntarily discontinued production in 1977 after it was confirmed that PCBs accumulate in the environment and alternative products were developed. Production of PCBs was banned by the EPA in 1979. -oOo- MONS 012872