Document rBn2oJLam7qB13E2v4qpb44x7

5/26/78 FYIi R E. Bouma C F. Callis A, A. Johnson E T. Mollica J C. Weber D Wood FROM: G. F. Barton PRESS D. 30,500 APR 2 1 1978 fPCB Breakthrough Seen iW M...t,he mm .H. im the .s.ta..te. official, warm* today of Mtina/UMhoyian Rtvrr flail for f'ear oIf PI CB coa Him. lacre was hope Ihal Canadian Hasorchm may have found a way of getting rid of the draaded chemical. Vcortttng to Thoma, Sheffy of Hie DNR haiardou, drays surveillance metion nt Madison, c--din, wlnm. ! have developed a bocleria ihal laftySyaEQB lIMil now. PCBs (polychlorinated Mphenyls) ham been regarded a non- biodegradable substance They don't break down m water or under any nat ural conditions. Rather they stay around for decades. That quality was the very reason why Industry found PCBs to their Hk- mg. You can't burn of dissolve thorn. They teslsi host and set*. ` PCBs. devetoRsd by iheMfi rnQBHft wwt iw Wort Ji tetirtow < ael Hew there it concent nationwide that thr ubtaoces hovo saturated the owrowiwM nd may be capable of ucianuisnintgka m. iHmtcIl dtaaren h tom of hair. The warning sgpinsi eating Shshwy gan River fish, recently h--d to he the most highly PCB coMaminatfd fish found in Wisconsin waters, ape* ctfically advises that lariating Math ers. expectant Mothers. females who anticipate 1 ` ` " * "" dien tern tfi t six years of apr mi aat these fish. II recommends that nobody ear more than me meal or me heW pound of this fish per week. . PCBs have been used in manufac ture tramformere and eaparitovu. b Hudson Falls. N.Y.. where o firm aim nufecture* theee problems. they've found high PCB coocemrattmo io huh. TfitTman-Mhde chemhad compound had been used io electrical wiring in sulation. plasticisers. sentama, amM- ing waxes and a variety of materials until 1971 when the federal govera* tainera for electrical e . But by that lime, millions of pounds of PCBs bad hem Along (he Sheboygan River. <PCBi were used Tor many years by die-cast founderies and in hydraulic fluids fer Hopefully, the Caaedtee discovery of a bacteria ihsi can break down PCBs will lead to the developmem of a substance to (rest PCB coota- i Sheffy. ' fttJMggig tm lm jfek' , hr--h *w PCB carnal nation in tewaae riudae bm it . iniem or river. Sheffy latd."* * wrjt oi thal.wj they're on the - --- -V. . HONS 0 0 1 6 0 8