PCB

OVERVIEW ON PCBs AND THEIR HYDROXYLATED METABOLITES

• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are synthetic organic compounds which formed a family of 209 congeners which derived of biphenyl and with the chemical formule C12H(10-n)Cln. Every core can have up to 5 chloro. They are known like being the most widely identified environmental contaminants persisting in the biosphere. Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) are metabolites of PCBs and have also been identified as environmental contaminants.
  PCBs chemical structure:
• Due to years of intensive use in industrial applications, PCBs are found in large quantities in natural environment (air, water, soils, wildlife, food chain, on the surface of sediments at the bottoms of rivers). Since the 80’s, their production is banned because of their toxicologic properties causing carcinogenicity, reproductive impairment, neurodevelopmental anomalies, and immunologic deficiency.
  Nocive:
  Toxic for aquatic organisms:

Couleur phenol

Couleur nitrites