How were PCBs used?
Commercial production of PCBs began in the United States in 1929 in response to the electrical industry’s need for a safer cooling and insulating fluid for industrial transformers and capacitors. This has been the major use for PCBs in Canada. Until other uses were banned in 1977 and 1980, PCBs were also used as hydraulic fluids; as surface coatings for carbonless copy paper; as plasticizers in sealants, caulkings, synthetic resins, rubbers, paints, waxes, and asphalts; and as flame retardants in lubricating oils.
