An estimated
1.3 million pounds of different types of PCBs
were dumped into the Hudson River by General Electric
from 1946 until 1977, when they were banned.
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The most common route of exposure to PCBs
is from eating contaminated fish.
The EPA estimates an increased cancer risk
as high as 1 in 2500 for people eating
certain species of fish from the Hudson River or
one thousand times higher than the EPA´s goal for protection.
Air near a contaminated site may also be polluted by PCBs.
By one estimate, residents of the Hudson Valley may inhale
as many PCBs as they would get by eating one contaminated fish per year.
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PCBs have been found all over the world,
including significant amounts in the Arctic
and Antarctic, far from any sources.
In fact, several studies have found very high levels
of PCBs in the blood and breast milk of Inuit women.
no more rubbing noses i guess
further readings
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