Human health risks due to airborne polychlorinated biphenyls are highest in New Bedford Harbor communities living closest to the harbor.

ABSTRACT: In response to concerns raised by communities surrounding the New Bedford Harbor Superfund site, we completed a field and modeling study that concluded the harbor is the primary source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in air around the harbor. The follow-up question from residents was whether the PCBs measured in air pose a risk to their health. The US Environmental Protection Agency focuses their site-specific, risk-based decisions for site clean-up on cancers. We focused our assessment on the non-cancer effects on the thyroid based on the congener specific patterns and concentrations of PCBs measured in air near and distant to the harbor. Human and animal studies of PCB-induced effects on the thyroid provide evidence to support our analysis. Drawing from the published toxicological da

SUBMITTER: Heiger-Bernays WJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7015809 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature