Document q61rDvmVEK8K7oR3kEjxrpOj

^LU. /'(-/-S' February 13. 19/0 Countdown begins for phasing cut most polychlorinated biphenyls The Knvironmental Protection Agency (I2PA) will Boon propose reflations for phasing out most uses of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCRs) in preparation for a Toxic Substance Control Act ban on their manufac ture after Jan 1,1979. In the meantime, final reflations arc being issued for the labeling of PCR containers and the disposal of these toxic com)K>undR, which have been used in insulating fluid for heavy duty electrical equipment and in adhesives, paint, sealants, duplicating machine paper, plaslics, and ink. Chemically similar to the polyhrominatt'd biphenyls (PBRs) involved in Michi gan's widely publicized animal feed contamination, I*C)ta are heat-resistant and durable and have been used commercially in the United States for nearly 50 years. The compounds began to receive a "bad press" 12. years ago when a Kuropcan scientist declared them to lie pollutants. Two years later, domestic rice oil in Japnn was accidentally contaminated with a PCB. The result, investigating physicians reported, was a dcrmal-gastrointcstinal-neurological disease called "yusho." Kflccts of acute PCB exposure in humans now are known to include an acne-like skin eruption, pigmen tation changes in tho skin and nails, tearing eyes, face and hand edema, and abdominal pain. High doses over long periods have produced hepatic carcinomas in rats, and monkeys fed these compounds have aborted or produced low birth weight offspring. RPA officials say PCUs "are now considered sus|N!ct cancer agents. They are alao persistent compounds that may damage people's reproductive capability, harm the body's immunological system, and cause skin reactions. Fishing in a number of major waterways, including the Great Lakes and Hudson Kixfar, has been jeopardized by unsafe PCB residues in fish." Almost five years ago, the Food and Drug Adminis tration declared that any fish found to contain 5 ppm PCB is unsafe to rat . The agency now is proposing to lower this ratio to 2 ppm. Some persons have been reported to suffer adverse reactions from eating large amounts of PCB-contaminatnl fish, and Iasi spring Indiana authorities recom mended aguinsl eating lake trout after high PCB levels were noted in the fish. In July 1977, Chicago health officials began advising pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers to cal Lake Michigan fish no more often than once a week and to limit children to one meal weekly of lake game fish. An environmental group, the Lake Michigan Feder ation, has been urging conservation departments to attach such a fish-eating advisory to fishing licenses and post it at public landings. PCBs tend to accumulate in body fat, and the concern about nursing mothers' milk stems from the fact that it is high in fat. Health department officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and the rest of Illinois followed Chicago's lead by drafting similar recommendations about eating Lake Michigan fish for -- breast-feeding women*. .. .. . In agreement with federal authorities, the state officials did not recommend against breast-feeding when PCBs are involved, contending that benefits of nursing outweigh the risks. Commenting on the situa tion, biochemist Anatoly Bcrkorovalny, PhD, of Itush- Prcsbytcrian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, suggested: 'The answer is not to stop breast-feeding but to keep pollutants out of the mother's food." In 1976, University of Guelph (Ontario) researchers found a greater incidence of thyroid hyitcrplasia in coho salmon collected from Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, mid Lake Erie than in earlier years. Noting that the Great, takes are polluted with PCUs and other chemicals, they suggested the salmon goiters may be environmentally induced. Water chemist David Wniningcr at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, says fish collect i'CIIs from food or from water and small particles passing through the gills. Because PCBs persist in lake bottom sediment, they could continue to be a problem for many years after their use is discontinued, W'ein- ingcr and fellow water chemist David Armstrong point out. Streams carry contamination into lakes, but miii h of it also comes from (be air. Anders \V. Andren. also a water chemist in Madison, says that, "for icvic materials like PCBs, the amount coining from inn air dwarfs the river input."--h\ I'nii, Grsitv JAMA. Fell 13. 1978 -Vol 239. No 7 HONS 001252 Medical r, vs S35