PCBs - Can The World's Sea Mammals

Survive Them?

by Joseph E. Cummins

Monsanto assures us in its recent advertisements that the health of the world's environment is a top priority. But this is not borne out by its record. Its products have caused extensive environmental destruction, and continue to do so. Among

other things, it is largely responsible for putting the world's ocean mammals at serious risk of extinction.

I:

n 1929, Swann Corporation, which later became part of Monsanto, began -manufacturing poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for commercial use. PCBs are oily liquids that conduct heat but not electricity. As such, they could be used as an insulating fluid in electrical appliances and were widely applied in everything from hydraulic equipment to degreasing agents for nuclear submarines.

; CONTAINS

PCB's (Potytehlorinaied Biphenyis)

behavioural and learning defects.

Cancers, particularly malignant melanomas7 have also been clearly linked to PCB-poisoning. In Ontario, State com­ pensation is provided for the toxins' malignant effects. In addition, PCB-pol­ lution has been seen to result in immune defence deficiencies, hypertension and strokes.

In effect, Monsanto has either pro­ duced or granted production licences for all but a very small fraction of the world's PCBs, and is responsible for the release of a massive 1.2 million tonnes of the deadly chemicals worldwide.

Although the company was aware of adverse health affects in workers exposed to PCBs as early as the late 1930s, 123 4

Monsanto continued to mass- produce them for decades until a highly-publicized PCB health scare 30 years later alerted policy-makers to the hazardous nature of the chemicals. The news has since only worsened.

In 1968, 1,300 residents of Kyush, Japan, fell il l after eating PCB-contaminated rice. Many of the affected women later gave birth to children with severe defects.

In 1969, the New Scientist published a report revealing the capacity of PCBs to "bioaccumulate along the food chain."5

ATTENTION

1

Initially, it was assumed that PCBaccumulation was greatest nearest the sources of pollution. However, in 1988, the journal Environmental Pollution pub­ lished an article revealing the extent of contamination borne in particular by marine mammals.8 Dolphins, whales and porpoises all contained levels of PCBs that far exceeded that of their terrestrial counterparts. Mediterranean blue-white dolphins, for example, were found to carry 833 parts per million in their blub­ ber - nearly 17 times the level requiring goods to be labelled and handled as toxic waste.

Marine mammals were also found to have a genetically pre­ determined sensitivity to PCB-induced reproductive impair­ ment;910 a sensitivity that only one in ten humans of European origin share.11 The chemicals, which mimic mammalian hor­ mones, thus pose a real threat of extinction to these animals.

The chemicals, which take many years to biodegrade, pass eas­ ily through the lipid portions of cell membranes and are read­ ily absorbed into mammalian fat tissue. Animals at the top of the food chain, like whales, polar bears, dolphins and humans, can store PCBs at highly concentrated levels. The result has been a terrify­ ing array of adverse reactions.

Accumulation at the Poles Revelations that PCBs have actually been condensing at the

Earth's poles, where there is

In effect, Monsanto has either produced or

granted production licenses for all but a very small fraction of the world's PCBs

no industrial activity to speak of, provoked both governmen­ tal activity and real concern from polar populations. The North Pole, because of the intensity of industrial activity in the Northern hemisphere,

And in 1995, it was revealed6 that women who had eaten fish from the contaminated waters of the Great Lakes, Canada, gave birth to children with an unusually high susceptibility to bacterial infection. PCBs were also shown to damage nerves in the brains of developing mammalian foetuses, leading to

has been the most badly affected. In 1998, for example, ringed seals from Arctic Norway were found to contain five times more PCBs than seals from the Canadian Arctic.12 For the last three years, the Norwegian Polar Institute has been finding polar bears with both male and female sexual organs.13 This

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The Ecologist, Vol. 28, No 5, September/October 1998
PCBS - CAN THE WORLDS' SEA MAMMAL S SURVIVE THEM?

Two international organizations now deal wit h issues relating t o Arctic pollution: the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) and the North American Free Trade Agreement's Environmental committee - the Commission fo r Environmental Co­ operation (CEC)

AMAP has published no-nonsense papers on the need for statutory measures in circumpolar countries t o manage Arctic pollution. The CEC has prepared a number of reports examining the remaining quantities o f PCBs. As far as possible, these attempt t o trace the pollutants' path back t o the environment.

Marine mammals can store PCBs at highly concentrated levels. The results have been catastrophic.

year, four hermaphroditic cubs have been seen - the highest tally so far - and researchers fear that up to four per cent of the bears may be affected. The Norwegian Special Adviser on polar affairs has pointed out the findings' implications for other life forms, including humans: "The polar bear, like us, is at the top of the food chain. We are very concerned," he said.14

Native Arctic populations have little choice but to eat the food their environment provides. But the accompanying toxic overdose is causing inevitable disease. For instance, in Greenland, the children, partly at least as a result, are being administered two to three times as many pre­ scriptive drugs as those in Sweden, Norway and the US. There are also many documented cases in that country of an increase in reproductive disorders.15'1647'18'19'20

Despite the obvious cause for alarm, Cana­ da's Northwest Territory officials recently issued a misleading public report, stating that blood taken from a group of newborn babies

References

1. Montague, P. , "As the story of PCBs Unfolds," Hazardous Waste News No. 293,

1992. 2. Montague, P., "The History of Chlorinated Diphenyl (PCBs) - Part 1" Hazardous

Waste News, No. 327, 1993. 3. Montague, P., "How we got here - Part 2", Hazardous Waste News , No. 329, 1993. 4. Montague, P., "Thanks to Monsanto", Hazardous Waste News, No. 144, 1989. 5. Jensen, S., "Report on a new chemical hazard," New Scientist 32, 612, 1966. 6. Tryphonas, H., "Immunotoxicity of PCBs in relation to the Great Lakes",

Environmental Health Perspectives, 103, Suppl. 9, pp. 35-46, 1995. 7. Loomis, D., Browning, S., Schenk, A., Gregory, E. and Savitz, D., "Cancer

mortality among electric utility workers exposed to polychorinated biphenyls", Occupational Environmental Medicine, 54, pp. 720-8, 1997. 8. Tanabe, S., "PCB problems in the future", Environmental Pollution, 50, pp. 5-28,

1988. 9. Reijnders, P. , "Reproductive failure in common seals feeding on fish from polluted

coastal waters", Nature 324, pp. 456-7, 1986. 10. Subramanian, A., Tanabe, S., Tatsukaura, R., Sairo, N . and Miyanznki, N. ,

"Reduction in the testosterone levels by PCBs and DDE in Dalls' porpoises", Marine Pollution Bulletin, 18, pp. 643-646, 1987: and Subramanian, A., Tanabe, S., and Tarsukaaura, R., "Use of Organochlorines as chemical tracers in determining reproductive parameters in Dalls' porpoises", Marine Environment, 1988. 11. Tanabe, S., op. cit. 8. 12. Wolkers, J., Burkow, I. , Lydersen, C , Dahle, S., Monshouwer, M . and Witkamp, R.

"Congener specific PCB and pnd polchlorinated camphene in Svalbard ringed seals", Sci Total Environ 216, pp. 1-11, 1998. 13. Nuttall, N. , "Pollutants blamed for dual-sex polar bears," The Times, June 1, 1998.

contained less PCBs than the Canadian national average. A closer examination of the data, however, showed that PCB lev­ els in Northern Territory babies were actually significantly higher than the national average21 - an illuminating insight into the growing tendency of Canadian bureaucrats to manipulate scientific studies to satisfy their immediate needs and desires.

Although PCBs have been banned in many countries, research suggests that 20 per cent of the 1.2 million tonnes produced now pollute the world's oceans.22 The United Nations Environment Program committee is to begin negotia­ tions between 120 nations on a global, legally-binding ban of 12 persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs. Such a glob­ al agreement is desperately needed but long overdue. Further­

ed more, who is going to pay for the safe < destruction and replacement of the world's ^ remaining PCB stock, particularly an estimat» ed 180,000 tonnes in the Third World? Perhaps

Monsanto, as the Earth's prime PCB-producer and profiteer, should begin to balance its accounts with the Arctic ecosystems. It would certainly make its new self-image, as a defend­ er of the environment, a little less incredible.

BIOGRAPHY Joseph E. Cummins is Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. EMail

14. Dewailly, E., Ayotte, P., Bruneau, S., Lalibert, C , Muir, D. and Norstrom, R., "Inuit

exposure to organochlorine through the aquatic food chain in arctic Quebec", Environmental Health Perspectives, 101, pp. 618-20, 1993. 15. Dewailly, E., Ryan, J., Lalibert, C , Bruneau, S., Weber, J., Gingras, S. and Carrier,

G., "Exposure of remote maritime populations to coplanar PCBs", Environmental Health Perspectives 102 Suppl. 1, pp. 205-9, 1994. 16. Ayotte, P., Dewailly, E., Bruneau, S., Careau, H. and Vezina, A., "Arctic air

pollution and human health", Sci Total Environ pp. 160-161, pp. 529-37, 1995. 17. Mulvad, G , Pedersen, H., Hansen, J., Dewailly, E., Jul, E., Pedersen, M. , Deguchi,

Y., Newman, W., Malcom, G , Tracy, R. Middasugh, J. and Bjerregaard, P., "The Inuit diet", Arctic Med. Res. 55, Suppl. I , pp. 20-4, 1996. 18. Ayotte, P., Carrier, G. and Dewailly, E., "Health risk assessment for Inuit newborn",

Chemosphere 32, pp. 531-42, 1996. 19. Ayotte, P., Dewailly, E., Ryan, J., Bruneau, S. and Lebel, G , "PCBs and dioxin-like

compounds in plasma of adult Inuit living in Nunavik", Chemosphere 34, pp. 145968, 1997. 20. Dewailly, E., Ayotte, P., Blanchet, C , Grodin, J., Bruneau, S., Holub, B. and

Carrier, G. "Weighing contaminant risks and nutrient benefits of country food in Nunavik", Arctic Med. Res. 55, Suppl. I , pp. 13-19, 1996. 21. Canadian Polar Commission Polaris Papers 10 ,"The Environment and Human

Health in the Arctic Polaris", pp. 1-15, 1996. 22. Cummins, J.E., "Extinction: The PCB threat to marine mammals", The Ecologist,

Vol.18 No.6, 1988. See also the NAFTA CEE papers: "Status of PCB Management in North America, 40pp., 1996; "PCB Regional Action Plan", 33pp., 1996; "Transboundary Considerations for PCB Waste, Transport and Disposal", 22pp., 1996; "Regional Action Plan", 28 pp., 1996.

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