How do PCBs and Dioxin affect people?
PCBs and dioxins have been found in soil, ground and surface water, air, sediment, plants, and animals in all regions of the world. PCBs and dioxins break down very slowly in the environment and accumulate in fatty tissue, skin, and internal organs of fish and other animals. The amount of PCBs/dioxins found in fish varies with species, age, size, fat content, diet, and surface water concentrations. Larger, older fish will generally contain higher levels of PCBs/dioxins than lean fish. Eating fish that contain PCBs may cause infants of women who have eaten many contaminated fish to have lower birth weights, delayed physical development, and learning difficulties. PCBs may affect the immune system, reproductive organs, skin, stomach, thyroid, kidney, and liver and may increase the risk of cancer. The types of PCBs that tend to concentrate in fish and bind to sediments happen to be the most carcinogenic components of PCB mixtures. Exposure to dioxins has been linked to suppression of the
