In 1966, a Swedish researcher discovered PCBs in the wild, including fish, his family members’ hair, and eagle feathers dated to 1944 held by a national museum. PCBs had also been detected in nature in other parts of Europe and "presumed to be widespread throughout the world," but their harmful effects were unknown. During the winter of 1968 in Japan, a rice bran oil deodorizing tower leaked PCBs into the oil—known as the "Yusho poisoning"—severely affecting or killing more than 500 people. By 1971 the dangers of PCBs were becoming known when the Council on Environmental Quality published Toxic Substances, a report that specifically addressed hazardous chemical concerns. In 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act banning PCBs effective January 1978. In April 1978, the Environmental Protection Agency defined rules that stipulated certain hazardous wastes, including PCBs, must be destroyed by incineration or disposed of in approved landfills.
"Report of a New Chemical Hazard," December 15, 1966
NEW SCIENTIST, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
UNC Libraries
Toxic Substances, April 1, 1971
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, WASHINGTON, DC
Formed in the spring of 1970, the council conducted research that concluded:
• toxic substances that could have severe effects on humans and wildlife were entering the environment; and
• existing federal authorities were inadequate to control toxic substances, requiring the formation of a new legal authority.
With most of its research and writing completed by December, the council’s findings informed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) submitted to Congress by Republican President Richard M. Nixon’s administration in February 1971. PCBs are one of three hazardous synthetic organic chemicals highlighted in the report.
UNC Libraries
"Durham Science Meet Studies PCB Effects" by Cornelia Olive, December 21, 1971
DURHAM HERALD, DURHAM, NC
North Carolina Collection
"Perspective on PCBs," April 1, 1972
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES, RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC
The inaugural issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is a collection of the papers presented during the Conference on PCBs sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the Quail Roost Conference Center in Rougemont, NC.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Library