Inadvertently Generated PCBs in Consumer Products: Concentrations, Fate and Transport, and Preliminary Exposure Assessment

Although commercial polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) production was banned in 1979 under the Toxics a variety of chemical production processes continues to contaminate products and waste streams. In this research, a total of 39 consumer products purchased from local and online retailer stores were analyzed for 209 PCB congeners. Inadvertent PCBs (iPCBs) were detected from seven products, and PCB-11 was the only congener detected in most of the samples, with a maximum concentration exceeding 800 ng/g. Emission of PCB-11 to air was studied from one craft foam sheet product using dynamic microchambers at 40 degrees C for about 120 days. PCB-11 migration from the product to house dust was also investigated. The IAQX program was then employed to estimate the emissions of PCB-11 from 10 craft foam sheets to indoor air in a 30 m3 room at 0.5 h-1 air change rate for 30 days. The predicted maximum PCB-11 concentration in the room air (156.8 ng/m3) and the measured concentration in dust (20 ng/g) were applied for the preliminary exposure assessment. The generated data from multipathway investigation in this work should be informative for further risk assessment and management for iPCBs.

Automated summary

In this research, 39 consumer products were analyzed for PCB congeners, and iPCBs were detected in seven products, with PCB-11 being the most common congener. The study also found that PCB-11 was emitted to air from one product and migrated to house dust.