Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment in a series of posts looking into some of the the chemical pollutants that have contaminated Puget Sound’s fish and wildlife and pose one of the greatest threats to their survival. This is part two of a two-part series, The Chemicals That Just Won’t Go Away, that examines polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are still polluting people and the environment despite being banned over 30 years ago.
This post was written by Dr. Fran Solomon, an environmental biologist who teaches courses and gives seminars for university students, environmental and health care professionals, and the general public about toxic chemicals and how they affect human health and the aquatic environment.
Lowered Resistance to Disease
Jim West explains how PCBs are still ending up in Puget Sound
Effects on Brain Development
Hormone Disruption
2. West, Jim, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Interview, May 17, 2011
3. Hickie, B.E., P.S.. Ross, R.W. MacDonald, and J.K.B. Ford (2007). “Killer whales (Orcinus orca) face protracted health risks associated with lifetime exposure to PCBs.” Environmental Science and Technology 41(18): 6613-6619.
4. Dallaire, Frederic, Eric Dewailly, Carole Vezina, Gina Muckle, Jean-Philippe Weber, Suzanne Bruneau, and Pierre Ayotte (2006). “Effect of prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls on incidence of acute respiratory infections in preschool Inuit children,” Environmental Health Perspectives 114: 1301-1425.
5. Jacobson, J.L.and S.W. Jacobson (1996). « Intellectual impairment in children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls in utero.” New England Journal of Medicine 335: 783-789.
6. Gray, Janet, ed. (2008). State of the Evidence: What is the Connection Between the Environment and Breast Cancer? 5th edition, Breast Cancer Fund (http://www.breastcancerfund.org), San Francisco, CA.