Management of the Polychlorinated Biphenyl Inventory in the Double Shell Tank (DST) System

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
C H MULKEY
Author(s):  
W.T. Collins ◽  
Charles C. Capen ◽  
Louis Kasza

The widespread contamination of the environment with PCB, a compound used extensively by industry in hydraulic and heat transfer fluids as well as plasticizers and solvents in adhesives and sealants, has resulted in detectable tissue levels in a large portion of the human population, domestic animals, and wildlife. Intoxication with PCB produces severe hepatic necrosis, degeneration of lymphoid tissues and kidney, skin lesions, decreased reproductive performance, reduced feed efficiency, and decreased weight gain. PCB also has been reported to reduce the binding of thyroid hormone to serum proteins and enhance the peripheral metabolism of thyroxine with increased excretion of thyroxine-glucuronide in the bile (Bastomsky, Endocrinology 95: 1150-1155, 1974).The objectives of this investigation were (1) to investigate the histopathologic, histochemical, and ultrastructural changes in thyroid FC produced by the acute (4 week) and chronic (12 week) administration of low (50 ppm) and high (500 ppm) doses of PCB to rats, (2) to correlate these alterations to changes in serum immunoreactive thyroxine concentration, and (3) to investigate the persistence of the effects of PCB on the thyroid gland.


Author(s):  
D.N. Collins ◽  
J.N. Turner ◽  
K.O. Brosch ◽  
R.F. Seegal

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a ubiquitous class of environmental pollutants with toxic and hepatocellular effects, including accumulation of fat, proliferated smooth endoplasmic recticulum (SER), and concentric membrane arrays (CMAs) (1-3). The CMAs appear to be a membrane storage and degeneration organelle composed of a large number of concentric membrane layers usually surrounding one or more lipid droplets often with internalized membrane fragments (3). The present study documents liver alteration after a short term single dose exposure to PCBs with high chlorine content, and correlates them with reported animal weights and central nervous system (CNS) measures. In the brain PCB congeners were concentrated in particular regions (4) while catecholamine concentrations were decreased (4-6). Urinary levels of homovanillic acid a dopamine metabolite were evaluated (7).Wistar rats were gavaged with corn oil (6 controls), or with a 1:1 mixture of Aroclor 1254 and 1260 in corn oil at 500 or 1000 mg total PCB/kg (6 at each level).


Author(s):  
Wei He ◽  
Wenhui Zhang ◽  
Zhenhua Chu ◽  
Yu Li

The aim of this paper is to explore the mechanism of the change in oestrogenic activity of PCBs molecules before and after modification by designing new PCBs derivatives in combination with molecular docking techniques through the constructed model of oestrogenic activity of PCBs molecules. We found that the weakened hydrophobic interaction between the hydrophobic amino acid residues and hydrophobic substituents at the binding site of PCB derivatives and human oestrogen receptor alpha (hERα) was the main reason for the weakened binding force and reduced anti-oestrogenic activity. It was consistent with the information that the hydrophobic field displayed by the 3D contour maps in the constructed oestrogen activity CoMSIA model was one of the main influencing force fields. The hydrophobic interaction between PCB derivatives and oestrogen-active receptors was negatively correlated with the average distance between hydrophobic substituents and hydrophobic amino acid residues at the hERα-binding site, and positively correlated with the number of hydrophobic amino acid residues. In other words, the smaller the average distance between the hydrophobic amino acid residues at the binding sites between the two and the more the number of them, and the stronger the oestrogen activity expression degree of PCBS derivative molecules. Therefore, hydrophobic interactions between PCB derivatives and the oestrogen receptor can be reduced by altering the microenvironmental conditions in humans. This reduces the ability of PCB derivatives to bind to the oestrogen receptor and can effectively modulate the risk of residual PCB derivatives to produce oestrogenic activity in humans.


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