An Unrecognized Source of PCB Contamination in Schools and Other Buildings

Herrick, Robert F.; McClean, Michael D.; Meeker, John D.; Baxter, Lisa; Weymouth, George A.

doi:10.1289/ehp.6912

Cited by 186 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Recently, investigators have reported high concentrations of PCBs in dust associated with certain construction materials, such as caulking (Herrick et al, 2004) and wood floor finish , as well as with a PCB-contaminated fluorescent light ballast (Seidel et al, 1996) and a PCBcontaminated carpet pad (Franzblau et al, 2009). The prevalence of these particular PCB sources in residences is unknown; however, they are unlikely to be relevant in most homes.…”

Section: Determinants Of Pcb Levels In Residential Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating exposures to indoor contaminants using residential dust

Whitehead

Metayer

Buffler

et al. 2011

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Residential dust has been used as a medium for assessing human exposures to a constellation of indoor contaminants including radionuclides, persistent organic pollutants, metals, allergens, and tobacco smoke. Here, we review and comment on investigations of household dust levels of particular analytes of health significance, namely polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In doing so, we not only describe methods for collecting and analyzing residential dust, but also describe global patterns in dust levels. Aside from geographic location, we discuss several potential determinants for dust levels of these contaminants. We also review previous estimates of the contribution of dust to overall intake of these three chemical classes and show how residential-dust measurements could be useful in either augmenting or replacing questionnaire-based assessment of human exposures in epidemiological studies. We conclude our review with a discussion of the current gaps in knowledge of worldwide dust levels and suggestions for how residential-dust measurements could be used to describe human exposures to chemicals in developing countries.

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Section: Determinants Of Pcb Levels In Residential Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating exposures to indoor contaminants using residential dust

Whitehead

Metayer

Buffler

et al. 2011

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…However, exposure may also occur through dermal contact (soil and house dust) and inhalation (indoor air in residential buildings and workplaces, as well as outdoor air). For example, in the 1960s-1970s PCBs were used in sealants for commercial building construction, and high levels of PCBs have been found to remain in the caulking of some public buildings which may lead to contamination of indoor air and dust (Herrick et al 2004). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serum PCBs, p,p′-DDE and HCB predict thyroid hormone levels in men

Meeker

Altshul²,

Hauser

2007

Environmental Research

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124

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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some organochlorine pesticides, which continue to be measurable in a high proportion of samples from the general population, have been found to alter thyroid hormone levels in animals and humans. However, studies of these relationships in adult men are limited and results across studies have been inconsistent. In the present study, we measured serum levels of 57 PCB congeners, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE, a stable metabolite of DDT), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), as well as free T 4 , total T 3 , and TSH, in 341 adult men recruited from an infertility clinic from 2000-2003. In multivariate linear regression, there were positive associations between p,p′-DDE and both free T 4 and total T 3 , and an inverse association between p,p′-DDE and TSH. Conversely, for PCBs there was only a suggestive inverse association between PCB 153 and total T 3 when potential confounding variables were considered. However, when results were additionally adjusted for p,p′-DDE, inverse associations with T 3 were significant for PCB 138, PCB 153, sum of PCBs and three different PCB groupings, and HCB, while the positive associations between p,p′-DDE and T 3 also remained. In conclusion, serum concentrations of PCBs, p,p′-DDE and HCB were associated with circulating thyroid hormone levels in adult men.

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“…PCBs have been measured in indoor air in several studies (Vorhees et al, 1997;Vorhees et al, 1999;Herrick et al, 2004;Colt et al, 2005;Franzblau et al, 2009;Harrad et al, 2009). In the USA it was reported that indoor air concentrations of PCBs were 5-300 times greater than those in outdoor air (Wallace et al, 1996), and that concentrations were higher in older buildings.…”

Section: (A) North Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Biphenyls

Agudo

Aronson²,

Bonefeld-Jörgensen³

et al. 2008

Organic Pollutants

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initiated a programme on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risk of chemicals to humans involving the production of critically evaluated monographs on individual chemicals. The programme was subsequently expanded to include evaluations of carcinogenic risks associated with exposures to complex mixtures, lifestyle factors and biological and physical agents, as well as those in specific occupations. The objective of the programme is to elaborate and publish in the form of monographs critical reviews of data on carcinogenicity for agents to which humans are known to be exposed and on specific exposure situations; to evaluate these data in terms of human risk with the help of international working groups of experts in carcinogenesis and related fields; and to indicate where additional research efforts are needed. The lists of IARC evaluations are regularly updated and are available on the Internet at http:// monographs.iarc.fr/.This programme has been supported since 1982 by Cooperative Agreement U01 CA33193 with the United States National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services. Additional support has been provided since 1986 by the European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, initially by the Unit of Health, Safety and Hygiene at Work, and since 2014 by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation "EaSI" (2014-2020) The International Agency for Research on Cancer welcomes requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications, in part or in full. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate IARC publications -whether for sale or for non-commercial distribution -should be addressed to the IARC Communications Group at: publications@iarc.fr.The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.The IARC Monographs Working Group alone is responsible for the views expressed in this publication. IARC Library Cataloguing in Publication Data NOTE TO THE READERThe term 'carcinogenic risk' in the IARC Monographs series is taken to mean that an agent is capable of causing cancer. The Monographs evaluate cancer hazards, despite the historical presence of the word 'risks' in the title.Inclusion of an agent in the Monographs does not imply that it is a carcinogen, only that the published data have been examined. Equally, the fact that an agent has not yet been evaluated in a Monograph does not mean that...

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An Unrecognized Source of PCB Contamination in Schools and Other Buildings

Cited by 186 publications

References 6 publications

Estimating exposures to indoor contaminants using residential dust

Estimating exposures to indoor contaminants using residential dust

Serum PCBs, p,p′-DDE and HCB predict thyroid hormone levels in men

Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Biphenyls

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