PCBs - the Preamble

A mere three letters may not seem like much, but it can be packed with plenty of meaning. In this case, PCBs are the three letters synonymous with a presently challenging world issue: environmental contamination.

PCBs – polychlorinated biphenyls – are organic compounds which had been infamously employed in a variety of household and industrial products, including flame-retardant fabrics, insulating fluids, electrical coolants, plasticizers, old lighting fixtures, and carbonless copy paper. Due to the later concluded toxicity of PCBs, production was banned in 1977.

PCBs may have disappeared from North American manufacturing plants thirty years ago, but they still exist in our environment today. The stable nature of PCBs is what allows them to continually persist in the air, water, soil, animals, and even in our own bodies.

This site will help you discover the rich history and chemistry behind this seemingly simple three-letter-named compound: what they are, what they had been used for, why they had been banned, and where they are prevalent now.