How do PBTs harm us and the environment?
PBTs are associated with a range of adverse human health effects, including effects on the nervous system and reproduction and development. PBTs have also been linked to cancer and genetic impacts. Particular risks may be posed to the developing fetus or young child in whom critical organs are still under development. Also, certain individuals who eat large amounts of fish from local waters contaminated with certain PBTs are at risk for adverse health effects. Birds and mammals at the top of the food chain also are at risk. The most famous example is the serious decline of the bald eagle in the 1960s because the fish they ate contained DDT. The DDT did not kill them or make them sick, but it did make their eggshells so thin it seriously threatened their ability to reproduce.
