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PCB warning label on a power transformer known to contain PCBs. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C 12 H 10−x Cl x; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids for electrical equipment. [2]
Bioremediation of PCBs is the use of microorganisms to degrade PCBs from contaminated sites, relying on multiple microorganisms' co-metabolism. Anaerobic microorganisms dechlorinate PCBs first, and other microorganisms that are capable of doing BH pathway can break down the dechlorinated PCBs to usable intermediates like acyl-CoA or carbon ...
Printed circuit boards are used in nearly all electronic products today. Alternatives to PCBs include wire wrap and point-to-point construction, both once popular but now rarely used. PCBs require additional design effort to lay out the circuit, but manufacturing and assembly can be automated.
Test results conducted in the fall showed the presence of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls — toxic, man-made chemicals that were banned from being produced in the United States in 1979.
PCB-compounds, always containing low concentrations of dioxin-like PCBs and PCDFs, were synthesized for various technical purposes (see Polychlorinated biphenyls). They have entered the environment through accidents such as fires or leaks from transformers or heat exchangers, or from PCB-containing products in landfills or during incineration.
These contaminants enter the environment through both use and disposal. Due to extensive concern from the public, legal, and scientific sectors indicating that PCBs are likely carcinogens and potential to adversely impact the environment, these compounds were banned in 1979 in the United States. [4]
PCBs were initially welcomed due to the electrical industry's need for durable, safer (than flammable mineral oil) cooling and insulating fluid for industrial transformers and capacitors. PCBs were also commonly used as stabilizing additives in the manufacture of flexible PVC coatings for electrical wiring and in electronic components to ...
The PCBs came from the company's two capacitor manufacturing plants at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, New York. [1] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979. [9] The bulk of the PCBs in the river were manufactured by Monsanto Co. under the brand names Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1016. [10]