Polychlorinated biphenyl emissions to the atmosphere in the Great Lakes region. Municipal landfills and incinerators

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 942-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Murphy ◽  
Leo J. Formanski ◽  
Bruce. Brownawell ◽  
Joseph A. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Great Lakes Region

Defining the sources of airborne polychlorinated biphenyls: evidence for the influence of microbially dechlorinated congeners from river sediment?

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (S1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Chiarenzelli ◽  
Brian Bush ◽  
Ann Casey ◽  
Ed Barnard ◽  
Bob Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
River Sediment ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Specific Pattern ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Superfund Sites ◽  
Aroclor 1248 ◽  
Time Period ◽  
A Minor ◽  
St Lawrence River

Sampling on Akwesasne Mohawk Nation lands during 1993 yielded elevated polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations comparable with those of other areas impacted by the discharge of PCBs. The summer air PCB congener- specific pattern in proximity to three Superfund sites along the St. Lawrence River suggests that the volatilization of Aroclor 1248, used extensively at all three downwind sites, is the dominant source. A dechlorinated source, presumably from river sediment and waters, is a minor contributor (~12%) to the pattern. These two sources can account for ~80% of the observed pattern. At a small cove adjacent to an industrial landfill, summer concentrations exceeded those measured in the winter by a factor of 27. At all sample sites during the summer months (June-August), concentrations and chlorine to biphenyl ratios increased, and similar congener-specific PCB patterns were observed. During the colder months, PCB concentrations at all sites decreased but were elevated with respect to those measured elsewhere in the Great Lakes region during the same time period.

Changes in Thyroid Hormone Economy Following Consumption of Environmentally Contaminated Great Lakes Fish

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Leatherland
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Fish Diets ◽  
Exposure Levels ◽  
Rats And Mice ◽  
Thyroid Lesions

Epizootics of thyroid lesions in fish and piscivorous birds that are resident in the Great Lakes region of North America suggest that there are environmental factors present in the Great Lakes ecosystem that act as potent endocrine disruptors, and that they are transferred along the food chain. This paper examines the results of wildlife studies, as well as related studies onfish-eating human populations in the region. It also re-examines the results of experimental studies of the effects of Great Lakes fish diets on the thyroid physiology of rodents and shows that the thyroid responses of fish-fed rats and mice were essentially similar to those found in rats that had been administered specific polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbon (PHAH) congeners or commercial polychlorinated biphenyl mixtures. However, the responses to the Great Lakes fish diets were found at PHAH exposure levels that were commonly several orders of magnitude lower than those applied in the classical toxicology studies. These findings, together with the results of the Great Lakes piscivorous bird studies and one in which captive common seals were fed "environmentally contaminated" fish, suggest that the "environmental" PHAH mixtures accumulated in fish represent a significant threat to the thyroid hormone economy, and the effects are greater than could be predicted by virtue of the known levels of active congeners in this naturally bioaccumulated PHAH mix.

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