Document wrvO0E7yd6RB6Yow4Xvb0w7jJ

% i w\ **" l-:t Vti7-lQl APFMnS Information Service January, 1972 For free publication or background uso. lyviRoyMiyrAL mxmTo m Sweden - No. 26 -- by Lara Enmolin * amBONMENTAL CONTAMINATION DY PCB- The PCin - polychlorinated biphenyl* - a group of aubataaooo vith widespread industrial uae vara found to ba present in most biological system* by the Swedish chemist Sorcri Jensen In 1966. The disoovery was quite accidental. A number of unknown Lubatonoas interfered with analysis o.f DDT in biological sample*. Dr Jenson was ablo to identify theea a* PCD:* and discovered a con* lamination that may be raoro harmful than that caused by PW. This issue of Environmental Planning is devoted to n review of the PCS problem in Sweden and to a presentation of the firct practical raothod of disposal of wastes containing PCBre. Thin was presented reeently by the chemical company SlIPilA. What is PCD? Aa lnd.ioated by the name, polychlorinated biphenyls PCB is a whole group of substance#. In tho biphenyl molecule (fig l) the hydrogen (I?), can be replaeed vith chlorine (Cl), Figure 2 glvos an example of a molecule in which 6 atoms of chlorine have replaeed hydrogen. Theo retically thero are some 210 different polychlorinated biphenyls. Those found at environmental contaminants usually have k to 8 atoms of chlo rine. Of the 104 theoretically possible vith this number of chlorine atoms 26 have so far beon found in nature. POT is perhaps the most stable group of organic substances that exists. Stability increases vith on increasing number of atoms of ehlorine. The stability is the main reason for tho industrial uso of 1*013. rCD can be boiled with strongly alkaline solutions or with sulphuric acid or nit ric acid without breaking down. If the molecule contains more than 4 atoms of chlorine it will not bum or oxidize at ordinary tenrpernturoa. Uso of PCD. MQNS 0B5136 In 1929 the electrical industry introduced I*CD in condensers and hi;'h because PCD is non-flammable. PCD is nov used in a number of diffe rent pnlnt* to mako them non-flnrroable am) resistant to chemicals and oxidation. Tt is used in ship bottom paints as an anti-fouling . fa agent. Approximately 80 - 85 ^ f all pleasure craft and 50 - GO If of the larger ships use paints containing PCD. Table 1 gives the I approximate use of PCD in Sweden'per year. Discovery of PCB as an environmental Contaminant As mentioned above, 1X3 in the environment was discovered acciden tally by Dr Soren Jensen. A number of unidentifiable substances ap peared during analysis of biological material for DDT. Sevoral dif ferent explanation* were thought of and testod. It was argued that Jensen had found metabolites (broak-dovn products) of DDT. Analysis of material from museums showed that the unknown substances were pre sent in feathers of white tailed eagles Iron 19*2. DDT was introduced in Svoden in 19*5 and first appears in museum material from t<)*7. A white tailed eagle found dead provided the solution. Tho unknown substances wore present in sufficient quantities for analysis by mass spectrometry. This showed the substances to be PCDis. Later analysis of various species of oniiunls has shovq PCB to be pre sent in most ecosystems, particularly those of tho marine environ ment. Tabic 2 gives some figures for the 1*CQ content of animals from the Baltic and the wost coast of Sweden. In table 3 comparison bet ween the concentration of I'd) in seals and barring from the southern and the northern Baltic ie made, (in both tables the figures for DDT are given in brackets. The concentrations are in milligrams per kilo- f,r^?BXMottfw.-n.il). ' 'T3~rTuSiiT>~r Table 2 aleo gives a rough indication of tho concentration of PCD in the food chains in the Baltic. Figure 3 shows the relation between the species in table 2 and the pathways that PC3 is transmitted by. The accumulation in food chains is caused both by the extremely high stability of PCB and its high solubility in fat. Bffects of PCD Tlie acute toxloity of PCB is not extremely high. There is a relation ship .betweon toxicity and chlorine content which has led to different maximum permissible concentrations in air for different degrees of chlorination. For the PCBss with a higher number of chlorine atoms tho maximum level In air is 1 milligram per cubic meter of air, and for the rcilts with lower chlorine content it is 0.5 mg/ou m. There is no maximum level for PCD contamination of food os yet. " Typical symptoms of PCB poisoning are fatty degeneration of the liver. One case of mass death of salmon fry-in a hatchory showed this typi cal picture and the PCD source could bo traced to anti-fouling pnint used in the hatchery. Effects on workers handling PCDis have been reported and include vaixvus uwnuf'o iu iw shin apart iron t.ne Jiw?* negenerntjon m^ntjonro nbove. It is estimated that the average Swede has a concentration of HONS 065137 -------------------------------------------------------------mi/iy/s ; T'.* ;*3"**" PCD which varies between the limits.4 mg to_0,5 g per_kg bodyweight. Damage to chicken embryos and inhibition of batching occurs when 0.01 ml of I*CB Is injected into eggs. These..experiments have not been fol lowed up In order to test the lowest level at which those effects oeour. . . PCDts (and DDT) are now known to activate the motabollc enzymes of the livor. The consequence of this is an increased breakdown of certain re productive hormones, which could result in changos of the reproductive rate in animals and man. * Sources of PCB Contamination Most of ths PCD which reaches the environment comes from waste products from industries using PCM. Until recently no mothods for disposal have oxisted. Large but unknown amounts seem to come from incinorntion plants through which PCD, as mentioned earlier, passes completely unchanged.in to the atmosphere. . Small but significant amounts of PCD ars probably used in oil furnaces as PCD often looks liko ordinary mineral oil. Now Method for Disposal of PCD Rocently ths Swedish industrial group SUTRA presented a method for PCB disposal which shows great promise. PCD disposal is a by-product of an arrangement for re-use of waste oil which SUPRA put into operation at the amnonla production plant in Kvam- toxp in control Sweden. . . ` The onnonia production usee large amounts of heavy mineral oil which is converted mainly to carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This is done at ex tremely high temperature (l 400 degrees contigrade). The gas mixture undergoes various forms of treatment. Among those is washing out of soot partlolea. These are then extracted from the water and enters the pro cess ones again. The result is that very small amounts of waste are pro duced finally. The oxtresMly high temperature used in converting oil into process gas results in breakdown of many of the contaminants of waste oil. The Na tional Environment Protection Board Research Laboratory has mode care ful analyses of ths vasto products aod of process gas at various steps. They discovered that PCB was one of the substances that had boon broken down. Rooycling and Disposal in Ono Pnoknge MUNS 08513a In co-operation with a firm of consulting engineers, Terra Dona, an in ventory of waste oil in central Sweden vat carried out. The results show ed that large ar.,v.u<is wulu l*e available if u suitable organisation for collecting the oil could be organized. This has now been done. The Mnvironmontnl pluming C6/l?7C . . . . 4 organisation, Bool, delivers oil to SUPRA under contract. Vast* oil Is collected from industries, garages, municipalities etc, A system vhicb permits eollection of quite* email amounts from each individual subcontractor has been organised. Oils and waste products containing PCD are collected and added to tho.process, The method seems te show great promise aa a model for solving several serious environmental problems In an coonomicnlly attraotivo way. Beferenoeoi . Ki I.1 iigi ftor (Environmental Poisons). Sfrveral authors. Katur oeh Kultur, Stockholm 1971, (in Swedish). ' Information (in Swedish) from SUPBA, tSrobro, Nov. 10, 1971, MONS 085139 Biphenyl molecule ffgf-l .. PCB molecule with 6 stems of chlorine Table 1 `. ` Consumption of PCD in Sweden, metric tons per year Transformers and condensers PVC-paint and other paints Ship bottom paints (anti-fouling) Jointing compounds ' ' *30 - 50? 55 ' 15 . 35 . foble 2 PCB (and Wt) in eotte animals. milligrams par kilogram of body fat (ppb). West oaaat PCB DDT NUssel (Mytilus edulis ) Herring (Clupea harangue) Salmon (Sals solar) Guilleeiot (Cria algo) eggs White tailed eagle (Bsliaetus albioilla) 2 0.7 (1) (2.1) Baltio (southern) PCB DDT * 7 2.9 250 (6) (17) (31) 1* ooo- (25 ( Table 3 CoMpariaon of PCD content of aaalo and herring from southern and northern Baltio In milligrams per kilogram of body 1st (ppb). DDT is given in brocket*. . Groy Seal (Palichoeruo grynus) ' Southern Baltic 30 (130) northern Baltic (Botbniat sea) 13 (120) ' MONS 063140 m. y &ivlr4nnntal planning 26/1971 Food veh rolotlon between certain Baltic apeelea (aee table S and 3). Broken llnoa Indicate tranmleeion of environeental poiaona euch aa DDT and PCD to the white tailed eagle through earrion of the otliar aped ea. MONS 085141