Category Archives: PCBs in Schools

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are an environmental contaminant in the news  because they have been discovered in schools and other buildings.  PCBs are actually a mixture of many different similar chemicals; there are actually 209 chemically different chlorinated biphenyls that together … Continue reading →

The seaside town of Westport Massachusetts must be getting anxious to wrap-up its experience with PCBs in schools.  Cleanup budgets have been exceeded, school opened late, and somehow cleanup goals have not been met.  Children, teachers and other staff are … Continue reading →

A funny thing happened on my way to the UMass Soils Conference this year, I discovered that PCBs may prevent cancer.  I know you may think I’m a wacko apologist for the chemical industry, but I’m not.  Read on. While … Continue reading →

Aroclor 1254 was the PCB mixture most commonly used in building materials, based on my personal experience reviewing test results.  Recently, as I was digesting data and researching literature to prepare for my UMass Soils Conference presentation this fall, I … Continue reading →

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) get a lot of press as a hazardous contaminant, but few people realize that PCBs are actually a mixture of up to 209 different chemicals.  Each of these individual chemicals is referred to by chemists as a … Continue reading →

An article appeared in the on-line magazine Environmental Protection yesterday that discussed the “ambiguous” response of the Environmental Protection Agency to PCBs in schools.  The article says that EPA is sending mixed messages regarding the hazards of PCBs in schools; … Continue reading →

For some time I have written about why the concentrations of PCBs found in schools are not significant from a health perspective.  In this post I want to expand on that with an example taken from a 1996 EPA Report … Continue reading →

In 1968 PCBs became part of the public lexicon as the result of a mass poisoning incident in Kyushu, part of western Japan.  A heat exchanger used in the production of rice bran oil had leaked PCB containing heat exchange … Continue reading →

With all the current panic about polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in schools, here are 5 things you really should know: The very PCBs that are being found in schools now have likely been in those buildings since at least 1970; that’s … Continue reading →

News stories in South Coast Today and East Bay RI indicate that the Westport Massachusetts school system is the latest victim in the PCBs in schools panic.  Between 40 to 60 years ago, PCBs (or polychlorinated biphenyls) were used as … Continue reading →