SBRP Researcher Finds Previously Unidentified PCB in Urban Airshed.

摘要

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a family of low-volatility compounds manufactured extensively across the United States and Europe between the 1920s and the 1970s. Due to their stabilizing and insulation properties, PCBs were commonly used as coolants for capacitors and transformers, as insulation in electrical wiring, and to a lesser extent as plasticizers in paint, caulk, and other sealants. Though they were banned in 1977 over concerns of demonstrated environmental stability and bioaccumulation as well as potential carcinogenicity, PCBs continue to be volatilized into the environment from old disposal sites and through the breakdown of manufactured materials which contain them. As a part of the University of Iowa SBRP, Dr. Keri Hornbuckle is working to determine sources of PCBs observed in ambient air in urban Chicago using a novel sampling method developed for this project. The goal of this research is to identify “hotspots” of PCB volatilization in the urban airshed, characterize the spatial extent of contamination in the city, and estimate the strength of the emission sources.