One study found PCB-11 in 90% of the air samples from Chicago (Photo by Lester Graham)
A potentially toxic chemical called
PCB-11 has been found all over the air in a
major city. That’s surprising, because people
thought the chemical hadn’t been used in years.
Gabriel Spitzer reports regulators could start
looking in other cities:
Transcript
A potentially toxic chemical called
PCB-11 has been found all over the air in a
major city. That’s surprising, because people
thought the chemical hadn’t been used in years.
Gabriel Spitzer reports regulators could start
looking in other cities:
Keri Hornbuckle says not much is known about PCB-11.
That’s because no one really expected to stumble on it.
“This finding is important, and I think it’s alarming. We should find out what the
health effects are for this chemical.”
Hornbuckle is a University of Iowa professor.
She looked at air samples from all over Chicago, and found the chemical in about 90% of
the samples.
She says the source is a mystery, though it might come from paints breaking down.
“Now, it could be that in all those places where we would expect to see the other
PCBs, we’d also see this one. But it’s a surprise, because no one thought it would be
produced.”
Hornbuckle says she found PCB-11 using a new, detailed way of analyzing air samples.
Other PCBs have been linked to cancer and neurological problems.
For The Environment Report, I’m Gabriel Spitzer.