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BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) manufactured in Anniston, Alabama, from 1929 to 1971 caused significant environmental contamination. The Anniston population remains one of the most highly exposed in the world. OBJECTIVES: [...]

BACKGROUND: Previously, we reported an association between higher maternal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and smaller thymus volume in newborns in a birth cohort residing in eastern Slovakia. OBJECTIVE: In the [...]

BACKGROUND: Body burdens of persistent bioaccumulative contaminants estimated from the cross-sectional biomonitoring of human populations are often plotted against age. Such relationships have previously been assumed to reflect the role [...]

BACKGROUND: Human exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) remains widespread. PCBs have been associated with adverse reproductive health outcomes including reduced fecundability and increased risk of pregnancy loss, although the human [...]

Abstract Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are considered 'persistent organic pollutants;' fat-soluble compounds that bioaccumulate in individuals and biomagnify in the food chain. PCBs were the first industrial compounds to experience a [...]

OBJECTIVES: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequently diagnosed neurobehavioral disorder of childhood, yet its etiology is not well understood. In this review we present evidence that environmental chemicals, [...]

BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may cause immunotoxic effects, but the detailed dose--response relationship and possible vulnerable time windows of exposure are uncertain. In this study we applied serum concentrations of [...]

BACKGROUND: Breast-feeding may affect the risk of developing allergy during childhood and may also cause exposure to immunotoxicants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are of concern as marine pollutants [...]

BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) comprise a ubiquitous class of toxic substances associated with carcinogenic and tumor-promoting effects as well as neurotoxic properties in the brain. However, the effects of PCBs [...]

BACKGROUND: Prenatal and postnatal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) exposure has been associated with decrements in fetal and infant growth and development, although exposures during the preconception window have not been examined [...]

BACKGROUND: Although sources and routes of exposure to dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been studied, information regarding exposure among children is limited. Breastfeeding and diet are two important contributors [...]

BACKGROUND: Prenatal polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposures may influence children's neurodevelopment. OBJECTIVE: We examined the association of prenatal PBDE and PCB exposures with children's reading skills at ages 5 and 8 years, Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ), and externalizing behavior problems at age 8 years. METHODS: From 239 mother-child pairs recruited (2003-2006) in Cincinnati, Ohio, we measured maternal serum PBDE and PCB concentrations, assessed child's reading skills using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III (WJ-III) at age 5 years and the Wide Range Achievement Test-4 (WRAT-4) at age 8 years, tested FSIQ using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV), and externalizing behavior problems using the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2) at age 8 years. We used multiple linear regression to examine the association of prenatal PBDE and PCB concentrations and reading, FSIQ, and externalizing behavior problems after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: An increase of [Sum.sub.4]PBDEs (BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100, and BDE-153) by 10 times was not significantly associated with reading scores at age 5 years at the p = 0.05 level but was inversely associated with Reading Composite scores ([beta]: -6.2, 95% CI: -11.7, -0.6) and FSIQ ([beta]: -5.3, 95% CI: -10.6, -0.02) at age 8 years; it was positively associated with the score for externalizing behavior problems ([beta]: 3.5, 95% CI: -0.1, 7.2) at age 8 years. Prenatal [Sum.sub.4]PCBs (PCB-118, -153, -138-158, and -180) was not significantly associated with a child's reading skills, FSIQ, and externalizing behavior problems. CONCLUSION: Prenatal PBDE concentration was inversely associated with reading skills and FSIQ and positively associated with externalizing behavior problems at age 8 years. No significant associations were found in prenatal PCB concentration., Introduction PBDEs were widely used as flame retardants in the manufacture of electronics, fUrniture, carpets, and textiles and are detectable in indoor dust, fish, birds, human serum, and adipose tissue. [...]

Between 1987 and 1999, salmon consumption increased annually at a rate of 14% in the European Union and 23% in the United States (1). Currently, over half the salmon sold [...], The annual global production of farmed salmon has increased by a factor of 40 during the past two decades. Salmon from farms in northern Europe, North America, and Chile are now available widely year-round at relatively low prices. Salmon farms have been criticized for their ecological effects, but the potential human health risks of farmed salmon consumption have not been examined rigorously. Having analyzed over 2 metric tons of farmed and wild salmon from around the world for organochlorine contaminants, we show that concentrations of these contaminants are significantly higher in farmed salmon than in wild. European-raised salmon have significantly greater contaminant loads than those raised in North and South America, indicating the need for further investigation into the sources of contamination. Risk analysis indicates that consumption of farmed Atlantic salmon may pose health risks that detract from the beneficial effects of fish consumption.

BACKGROUND: Organochlorine (OC) insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been shown to have estrogenic, antiestrogenic, or antiandrogenic properties; as a result, the impact of exposure to these compounds and risk of hormonal cancers, such as prostate cancer, is a concern. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a nested case--control study, using prospectively collected serum, to estimate associations between OC exposures and metastatic prostate cancer in a population-based cohort from Norway. METHODS: Sera from 150 cases and 314 controls matched on date of blood draw, age at blood draw, and region was used to determine concentrations of 11 OC pesticide metabolites and 34 PCB congeners. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for quartiles of lipid-corrected metabolite levels were calculated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Metastatic prostate cancer was two times as likely among men with serum concentrations of oxychlordane in the highest quartile compared with those in the lowest quartile (OR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.03, 4.03; p-trend 0.05). Elevated but nonsignificant ORs were estimated for the highest versus lowest quartile of heptachlor epoxide, HCB, and mirex, although these exposures were correlated with oxychlordane. Findings for specific PCB congeners showed a significant inverse association between natural log-transformed lipid-adjusted PCB 44 and metastatic prostate cancer (OR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.97; p-trend = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the importance of estimating associations with specific OC chemicals and suggests a possible role of OC insecticides and PCBs in the etiology of metastatic prostate cancer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408245, Introduction Organochlorines (OCs) are a diverse group of persistent synthetic compounds that have been used as pesticides (mostly insecticides) and for various industrial and commercial applications. OC insecticides were widely [...]

Thomas J. O'Shea, in his Letter entitled 'PCBs not to blame' (16 June, p. 1965), is technically correct in stating that there is no evidence to implicate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) [...]

In response to Brondum's comments we would like to reiterate that the main purpose of our review (Eubig et al. 2010) was to examine the parallels between cognitive domains affected [...]

Previous research found an association between higher maternal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and smaller thymus volume in newborns in a birth cohort residing in eastern Slovakia. Jusko et al. (p. [...]

Although banned from production in the United States and other developed countries in the late 1970s, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) remain widespread environmental contaminants found in measurable amounts in the general [...]

The correspondence section is a public forum and, as such, is not peer-reviewed. EHP is not responsible for the accuracy, currency, or reliability of personal opinion expressed herein; it is [...]

Neurodevelopmental toxicity of prenatal polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by chemical structure and activity: a birth cohort study Park HY, Hertz-Picciotto I, Sovcikova E, et al. Environ Health 2010;9:51. BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls [...]

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) constitute a class of persistent organic pollutants suspected or known to cause adverse health effects. Among these effects are immune system dysfunctions that may hinge on both [...]

Previous research found an association between decreased antibody response to diphtheria and tetanus toxoid in children and early postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In a follow-up study, Heilman et [...]

Grandjean et al. (p. 1429) studied whether sensitization and development of allergic disease is associated with duration of breast-feeding and perinatal exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury. The duration [...]

There is an extensive literature on the use and interpretation of neurodevelopmental tests to assess the effects of exposure to environmental agents. However, conclusions about causality are generally based on [...]

People are usually exposed to environmental contaminants such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dibenzofurans as mixtures. Hazard assessments of mixed exposures are typically based on a total 'toxic equivalence' [...]

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) levels measured in maternal blood during or after pregnancy have been inversely associated with infant birth weights, but potential effects of preconception PCB exposures have not been [...]