The Environment And Effect On Human Health Environmental Sciences Essay

The Environment And Effect On homophile Health environmental Sciences EssayPolychlorinated Biphenyls atomic number 18 a assemblage of manmade chemics. They make up a group of two hundred and nine-spot individual chlorinated biphenyl rings, k instantaneouslyn as congeners. In the gruelling form, PCBs are greasy liquids, oily solids, and clear to yellow in color.(EPA, 2012). They acquit no savor or taste. (EPA, 2012). They are very stable mixtures that are resistant to in cristalse temperature and pressure. They have a low degree of re crookivity. PCBs are non flammable, have high electrical resistance, and are good insulators.(Barbalace, 2002) PCBs were seen as an industrial breakthrough, because of its chemical substance properties.Before their ban in 1979, Polychlorinated biphenyls entered the environment during their manufacture and us in the United States. The organic chemicals were first manufactured by Monsanto in 1929. anterior to their ban, PCBs were used in hundr eds of industrial and commercial applications, as electrical insulators. Uses for PCBS include transformers, electrical equipment, hydraulic fluids, oil based paint, carbonless carbon paper, compressors, heat conveyancing systems, pigments, adhesives, liquid cooled electric motors, fluorescent bulbs, cable insulation, plastic, and the list goes on.(EPA, 2012). Domestic uses include cereal boxes and bread wrappers. Because of its role in prevent fires and an explosion, the chemical was ask by fire code. PCBs were seen as the ideal insulator for companies and consumers.The qualities that make PCBs valued by consumers and companies are likewise the ones that make it hazardous to the environment and homo wholesomeness. PCBs high thermal and chemical resistance means they do non break down easily when open(a) to heat or chemical treatments causing it to be hard to get out of the environment. Since they do not break down they remain in the environment and continue to realise up. Today, the chemicals can passive be released in the environment through spills, leaks, and amiss(p) temperament and storage. More than half of the PCBs produced during 1929-1979 have been released into the environment. (Barbalace, 2012). Although PCBs are no bimestrial commercially manufactured or widely used , there are still ways populate can be exposed to concentrated Polychlorinated Biphenyls. The most common exposures include through solid food, surface soils, drinking and underfur water, indoor air, and in the workplace.PCBs are an organic pollutant. Companies that used the substance colly the environment through its uses and disposals. In 1935, the Monsanto participation purchased the Theodore Swann chemical company and began manufacturing PCBs in the United States. Monsanto continued to produce PCBs at its Anniston plant until 1971.(Lyons, 2004). During its forty geezerhood of manufacturing PCBs as an electrical insulator, the Monsanto Company flushed tens of thousa nds of pounds of PCBs into nearby creeks and buried millions more pounds in a hillside landfill. (Lyons, 2004). The Monsanto Company was sued by thousands of current and former residents of Anniston, who declare the company was aware of the dangers posed by PCBs and actively schemed to hide this culture from the nearby public. (Firestone, 2002). In 1966, Monsanto managers discovered fish near the waste sites off belly side up spurting blood and shredding skin, within ten seconds of the PCBs disposal.(Firestone, 2002). The company hid their findings. In 1969, fish were found with 7500 times the legal PCB level.(Grunwald, 2002). Company records reveal the companys decision that there was no reason to go to high-priced extremes in limiting discharge form the plant.(Grunwald, 2002). The company was legitimate to deliver $53 million in cleanup cost and agreed to a global settlement involving current and future cases in aluminium.(Lyons, 2004).There are numerous known contaminated sites around the U.S. Among the most dangerous of these,is the Hudson River Valley. In 1947-1977, General Electric (GE) began dumping PCB in the river. By the ban in 1979, an estimated 1.3 million pounds of the synthetic chemical had entered the Hudson river. The Hudson River was contaminated with PCB pollution. Twenty years later, officials still have to deal with the environmental effect of PCBs in the bedrocks of the Hudson River. (Mele, 1998). PCBs are now found throughout the Hudson River ecosystem, in in sediment, water, and wildlife. (Mele, 1998). The spread of PCBs throughout the Hudson River and the food chain has created one of the most widespread, hazardous waste problems in the nation.The EPA ordered the General Electric Company to pay 460 million dollars to dredge the PCBs it had dumped into the Hudson River. (Grunwald, 2002).The environmental Protection Agency Prevention regulates PCBs through the Toxic Substances Control movement (TSCA). The Act bans the use, distrib ution, manufacture, and processing of PCBs. TSCA gives EPA the authority to develop and enforce regulations concerning the manufacture, use, cleanup, and proper disposal of PCBs. (EPA, 2012).Through the environment, reality came into match with the chemical. Polychlorinated Biphenyls are linked to numerous health hazard. It has an acute toxic modify. Skin irritations can occur in people exposed to high levels of PCBs. Studies in the workplace suggest that exposure to PCBs whitethorn also cause irritation of the nose and lungs.PCBs are a presumable human carcinogen. EPAs regulations on cancer-causing chemicals use the term probable when a chemical is known to cause cancer in animals and where there is present that suggests that it causes cancer in humans but which is not conclusive. Studies of PCBs in humans have found increased rates of cancer patients that may be connected to the synthetic chemical. PCBs are known to cause a transmutation of types of cancer in rats, mice, and other study animals. (EPA, 2012)Polychlorinated Biphenyls are linked to developmental effects. Proper development of the nervous system is critical for early attainment and can have potentially epochal implications for the health of individuals throughout their biographys. (EPA, 2012). Women exposed to PCBs before or during pregnancy can give birth to children with significant neurological and motor control problems. These problems include lowered IQ and little short-term memory. (EPA, 2012).PCBs disrupt hormone function. PCBs with only a few centiliter atoms can mimic the bodys natural hormones. PCBs are also thought to play a role in reduced sperm cell number, reformed sex organs, puberty, and altered sex ratios of children. PCBs with more chlorine atoms act like dioxins in altering the metabolism of sex steroids in the body, which motley the normal levels of estrogens and testosterone. PCBs also upset the balance of thyroid hormones, which may affect the growth, intellectu al, and behavioral development. (EPA, 2012).PCBs are found throughout the environment, and it may be undoable to avoid coming into contact with Polychlorinated Biphenyls. People can try avoiding contact with contaminated soils and sediments. (Wisconsin, 2012). Practice good hygiene habits. Limit their consumption of sport-caught fish. aftermath fruits and vegetables before eating them. Also, if any member of the househ overage works with old electrical equipment be sure the equipment is properly maintained and the area is well ventilated. (Wisconsin, 2012).Polychlorinated Biphenyls are a chemical that will not go away. The Environmental Protection Agency is trying their best to rid the environment of its effects. The characteristics of the synthetic drug cause it to be transported easily and hard to break down. The drug has caused damaged to the environment, and the people around the environment. Polychlorinated Biphenyls will have a lifetime effect on the environment and people. SourcesBarbalace, Roberta C. The Chemistry of Polychlorinated Biphenyls. PCB, The Manmade Chemicals That Wont Go away(predicate) (EnvironmentalChemistry.com). N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2012. .Environmental Protection Agency. Polychlorinated Biphenyls.EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .Firestone, David. Alabama Jury Says Monsanto Polluted Town.The New York Times. N.p., 23 Feb. 2002. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .Grunwald, Michael. Monsanto Held Liable For PCB Dumping.The capital of the United States Post. Raw Food Info, 23 Feb. 2002. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .Lyon, Steve. PCB Pollution in Anniston, Alabama. Reading.Commonweal. professor Raquel Pinderhughes. San Francisco State Unversity . Urban Studies and Environmental Programs, 2004. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .Human Health Hazards PCBs and Your Health.Human Health Hazards PCBs and Your Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .The Hudson River PCB degree A Toxic Heritage. Dir. Andy Mele. W. Alton Jones Foundation, 1998. Short Film.The Hudson River PCB Story A Toxic Heritage. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .What Are The Human Health set up Of PCBs?What Are The Human Health Effects Of PCBs?N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2012. .