Level 2 - Details on PCBs

• 1. What are PCBs?
  • 1.1 How have PCBs been used and how do they enter the environment?
  • 1.2 What are properties of PCBs?
• 2. What happens to PCBs in the environment?
  • 2.1 How are PCB transported in the environment?
  • 2.2 How do PCBs build up in living organisms?
  • 2.3 To what extent do PCBs break down or persist in the environment?
  • 2.4 How much PCBs are found in the environment?
• 3. To what extent are humans exposed to PCBs?
  • 3.1 To what extent are humans exposed to PCBs through food?
  • 3.2 To what extent are infants exposed to PCBs through breast milk?
  • 3.3 To what extent are humans exposed to PCBs through air?
  • 3.4 To what extent are humans exposed to PCBs through drinking water?
• 4. What happens to PCBs when they enter the body?
• 5. What are the effects of PCBs on laboratory animals?
  • 5.1 At what exposure levels do PCBs cause harmful effects?
  • 5.2 What are the effects of PCBs on reproduction?
  • 5.3 What other biological effects can PCBs have?
  • 5.4 Through what mechanisms do PCBs act?
• 6. How has PCB exposure affected human health?
  • 6.1 Has exposure to PCBs lead to more cancer cases?
  • 6.2 Has exposure to PCBs affected human reproduction and development?
  • 6.3 Have PCBs caused other health effects?
• 7. What are the risks posed by PCB exposure?
  • 7.1 What health effects occur at what levels of exposure?
  • 7.2 What tolerable daily intakes have been established for PCBs?
  • 7.3 What are estimated daily intakes of PCBs?
  • 7.4 What are the uncertainties in assessing PCB health risks?
• 8. Conclusions