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Biodegradation Feb 2018Two biphenyl-degrading bacterial strains, SS1 and SS2, were isolated from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil. They were identified as Rhodococcus ruber and...
Two biphenyl-degrading bacterial strains, SS1 and SS2, were isolated from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil. They were identified as Rhodococcus ruber and Rhodococcus pyridinivorans based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, as well as morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics. SS1 and SS2 exhibited tolerance to 2000 and 3000 mg/L of biphenyl. And they could degrade 83.2 and 71.5% of 1300 mg/L biphenyl within 84 h, respectively. In the case of low-chlorinated PCB congeners, benzoate and 3-chlorobenzoate, the degradation activities of SS1 and SS2 were also significant. In addition, these two strains exhibited chemotactic response toward TCA-cycle intermediates, benzoate, biphenyl and 2-chlorobenzoate. This study indicated that, like the flagellated bacteria, non-flagellated Rhodococcus spp. might actively seek substrates through the process of chemotaxis once the substrates are depleted in their surroundings. Together, these data provide supporting evidence that SS1 and SS2 might be good candidates for restoring biphenyl/PCB-polluted environments.
Topics: Benzoic Acid; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biphenyl Compounds; Chemotaxis; Citric Acid Cycle; Phylogeny; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Rhodococcus
PubMed: 29052043
DOI: 10.1007/s10532-017-9809-6 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2022Many polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners are found in both legacy Aroclor mixtures and modern materials, and both contribute to PCBs levels in ambient air. The...
Many polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners are found in both legacy Aroclor mixtures and modern materials, and both contribute to PCBs levels in ambient air. The various sources of PCBs make it difficult to quantify the relative importance of emissions from remaining legacy materials and emissions of PCBs released from production and use of modern products. To address this challenge, we utilized active and passive sampling, analytical methods optimized for PCBs, and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and cos theta to examine the chemical signature of PCBs in Chicago air. Here we report our findings for over 640 samples collected over 7 years and analyzed for all 209 congeners. We conclude that Aroclor sources (1254, 1016/1242, and 1260) are consistent and dominant contributors to Chicago air. However, non-Aroclors sources accounted for 13%-16% of the total PCBs measured. Our analysis indicates non-Aroclor sources explain 99% of PCB11, 90% of PCB 68, and 58-69% of congeners with 8 to 10 chlorines in Chicago air. All of these are known to be emitted from paints or silicone polymers. Additionally, we identified over 20 congeners that have non-Aroclor contributions of more than 50% including PCB 3 (4-monochlorobiphenyl, 83% non-Aroclor) as well as 7 congeners of unknown sources: PCBs 43, 46, 55, 89, 96, 137, and 139 + 140. Non-Aroclor emission sources contribute to the entire range of congeners from mono- to deca-chlorobiphenyls. We found evidence of highly localized non-Aroclor sources including a signature similar to that of green paint. We also found source signals similar to the PCB congeners volatilizing from and absorbing to neighboring Lake Michigan. The measured profiles vary from season to season: lower chlorinated congeners dominate in winter months while higher chlorinated congeners contribute more in summer.
Topics: Air; Aroclors; Chicago; Lakes; Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PubMed: 35066038
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153263 -
Chemosphere Dec 2023This manuscript presents a systematic review of PCB half-lives reported in the scientific literature. The review was completed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and... (Review)
Review
This manuscript presents a systematic review of PCB half-lives reported in the scientific literature. The review was completed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and included a review of almost 1000 peer-reviewed publications. In total, 26 articles were found to report half-lives in humans, with the majority of data coming from studies performed in North America on individuals suspected to have been exposed to PCBs. Terminology for reporting PCB half-lives was inconsistent, so we have attempted to consolidate this and recommend using either "apparent half-life" or "intrinsic half-life" in future studies. Within the literature, values for reported half-lives varied considerably for different PCBs. Less chlorinated PCBs generally have shorter half-lives than more chlorinated PCBs. It was interesting to note the large variability of half-lives reported for the same PCB. For example, the reported half-life for PCB 180 varied by nearly 3 orders of magnitude (0.34 years-300 years). Our review identified that the half-lives estimated were largely dependent on the studied cohort. We discuss the importance of PCB body burden, degree of chlorination and PCB structure, gender, age, breastfeeding, BMI, and smoking status on half-life estimations. We also identified significantly shorter half-lives for some PCBs in occupationally exposed individuals compared to results reported from the general population. PCB half-lives are not the same for every PCB or every individual. Therefore, careful consideration is needed when these values are used in human exposure studies.
Topics: Female; Humans; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Half-Life; Breast Feeding; Body Burden; North America; Environmental Pollutants
PubMed: 37832892
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140359 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Sep 2023Further investigations are required to prove that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposure is a cardiovascular disease risk factor. Unlike previous studies that...
Further investigations are required to prove that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposure is a cardiovascular disease risk factor. Unlike previous studies that attributed the atherogenic effect of PCBs to aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation, we illustrated a new mechanism involved in the redox reactivity of PCBs. We discover the redox reactivity of quinone moiety is the primary factor for PCB29-pQ-induced proinflammatory response, which highly depends on the status of caveolin 1 (CAV1) phosphorylation. PCB29-pQ-mediated CAV1 phosphorylation disrupts endothelial nitric oxide synthase, toll-like receptor 4, and reduces interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 binding with CAV1. Phosphorylated proteomics analysis indicated that PCB29-pQ treatment significantly enriched phosphorylated peptides in protein binding functions, inflammation, and apoptosis signaling. Meanwhile, apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE) mice exposed to PCB29-pQ had increased atherosclerotic plaques compared to the vehicle group, while this effect was significantly reduced in ApoE/CAV1 double knockout mice. Thus, we hypothesis CAV1 is a platform for proinflammatory cascades induced by PCB29-pQ on atherosclerotic processes. Together, these findings confirm that the redox activity of PCB metabolite plays a role in the etiology of atherosclerosis.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Phosphorylation; Caveolin 1; Quinones; Atherosclerosis
PubMed: 37257380
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131697 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Mar 2020PCB forensic science is the process of identifying the source(s) of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a site in the context of a legal proceeding to aid in identifying...
PCB forensic science is the process of identifying the source(s) of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a site in the context of a legal proceeding to aid in identifying the party(s) responsible for the cost of environmental remediation. The PCB forensic scientist should assemble and examine all the evidence and then develop opinions about sources, discharges, deposition, fate, transport, environmental impact, and other issues at dispute among the parties. PCBs are complex mixtures of compounds (Aroclors in USA) that can simultaneously reveal information about the source of the contamination, but also provide confounding and contradictory evidence. The issues are technically complex and the expert must systematically evaluate the facts, employ deep technical expertise, and use dispassionate judgment to provide expert opinions that assist the judge, jury, arbitrator, or allocator in rendering their decision as to the responsible party(s) or an apportionment of that responsibility. Different PCB products were used and disposed of that have characteristic congener mixture profiles. In the environment, these profiles can mix and weather over decades. Sampling and analysis can generate further uncertainties, notably the possible misidentification of Aroclors. The expert's challenge is to present their opinions clearly and authoritatively without overrepresenting the facts and data. This paper focuses on PCB contamination of sediment in aqueous sediment and uses a case study to illustrate application of forensic principles.
Topics: Aroclors; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Restoration and Remediation; Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PubMed: 31919816
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-07416-9 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Sep 2023As a group of pollutants listed in the Stockholm Convention, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) should be eliminated and their releases should be controlled. For this...
As a group of pollutants listed in the Stockholm Convention, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) should be eliminated and their releases should be controlled. For this purpose, a complete PCB emission inventory is urgently required. Current unintentional releases of PCB were dominantly focused on waste incineration and non-ferrous metal production industries. The formation of PCB in chlorinated chemical manufacturing processes is poorly understood. In this study, occurrences and inventory of dioxin-like PCB (dl-PCB) in three typical chemical manufacturing processes, including chlorobenzene and chloroethylene production processes, were investigated. The bottom residues, which were high boiling point by-products after rectification tower, contained higher concentration of PCB than other stage samples in monochlorobenzene production and trichloroethylene production processes. The PCB concentrations were as high as 1.58 ng/mL and 152.87 ng/mL, respectively, which should be further concerned. The toxic equivalent quantities (TEQ) of dl-PCB in monochlorobenzene, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene products were 0.25 μg TEQ/t, 1.14 μg TEQ/t, and 5.23 μg TEQ/t, respectively. The mass concentration and TEQ of dl-PCB determined in this research can be used for the further development of dl-PCB emission inventory from these chemical manufacturing industries. In addition, temporal and spatial trends of PCB releases from typical chemical manufacturing processes from 1952 to 2018 in China were clarified. The releases increased rapidly in the latest two decades and presented an expansion tendency from the southeast coastal areas to northern and central areas. The continuing upward trend for the output and the high dl-PCB TEQ of chloroethylene indicated significant releases of PCB from chemical manufacturing processes and should receive more attention.
Topics: Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Dioxins; Vinyl Chloride; Trichloroethylene; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; Chlorobenzenes; China; Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated
PubMed: 37330188
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122064 -
Surgery Jan 2021The incidence of primary hyperparathyroidism has increased 300% in the United States in the past 30 years, and secondary hyperparathyroidism is almost universal in...
BACKGROUND
The incidence of primary hyperparathyroidism has increased 300% in the United States in the past 30 years, and secondary hyperparathyroidism is almost universal in patients with end-stage renal disease. We assessed the presence of environmental chemicals in human hyperplastic parathyroid tumors as possible contributing factors to this increase.
METHODS
Cryopreserved hyperplastic parathyroid tumors and normal human parathyroids were analyzed by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography coupled to ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, and biostatistics.
RESULTS
Detected environmental chemicals included polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane derivatives, and other insecticides. A total of 99% had p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene. More than 50% contained other environmental chemicals, and many classified as endocrine disruptors. Polychlorinated biphenyl-28 and polychlorinated biphenyl-49 levels correlated positively with parathyroid tumor mass. Polybrominated diphenyl ether-47 concentrations in tumors were inversely correlated with patients' serum calcium levels. Cellular metabolites in pathways of purine and pyrimidine synthesis and mitochondrial energy production were associated with tumor growth and with p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene in primary hyperparathyroidism tumors. In normal parathyroids, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene , polychlorinated biphenyl-28, polychlorinated biphenyl-74, and polychlorinated biphenyl-153, but not p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene or polychlorinated biphenyl-49, were detected.
CONCLUSION
Environmental chemicals are present in human parathyroid tumors and warrant detailed epidemiologic and mechanistic studies to test for causal links to the growth of human parathyroid tumors.
Topics: Causality; Endocrine Disruptors; Environmental Pollutants; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; Humans; Hyperparathyroidism, Primary; Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Parathyroid Glands; Parathyroid Neoplasms; Parathyroidectomy; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Retrospective Studies; United States
PubMed: 32771296
DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2020.06.010 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Sep 2022Co-contamination of heavy metals and organic pollutants is widespread in the environment. Metal-tolerant/hyperaccumulating plants have the advantage of enhancing...
Co-contamination of heavy metals and organic pollutants is widespread in the environment. Metal-tolerant/hyperaccumulating plants have the advantage of enhancing co-operation between plants and rhizospheric microbes under heavy metal stress, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, the effects of Elsholtzia splendens and Lolium perenne on the rhizospheric microbial community and degraders of phenanthrene (PHE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were investigated. The results showed E. splendens could tolerate high Cu concentrations, while L. perenne was sensitive to Cu toxicity. Although Cu played the most important role in microbial community construction, both E. splendens and L. perenne caused shifts in the rhizospheric microbial community. For PHE and PCB degradation, L. perenne was more efficient under low Cu concentrations, whereas E. splendens performed better under high Cu concentrations. This difference can be attributed to shifts in the degrader community and key degradation genes identified by stable isotope probing. Moreover, higher abundances of various genes for organic pollutant degradation were observed in the rhizosphere of E. splendens than L. perenne based on gene prediction under high Cu stress. Our study reveals underlying mechanism of the advantages of heavy metal-tolerant plants for organic pollutant removal in soils co-contaminated with heavy metals.
Topics: Biodegradation, Environmental; Copper; Lamiaceae; Metals, Heavy; Phenanthrenes; Plant Roots; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants
PubMed: 35803192
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129492 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Mar 2021Electronic waste is termed as e-waste and on recycling it produces environmental pollution. Among these e-waste pollutants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are... (Review)
Review
Electronic waste is termed as e-waste and on recycling it produces environmental pollution. Among these e-waste pollutants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are significantly important due to ubiquitous, organic in nature and serious health and environmental hazards. PCBs are used in different electrical equipment such as in transformers and capacitors for the purposes of exchange of heat and hydraulic fluids. Bioremediation is a reassuring technology for the elimination of the PCBs from the environment. In spite of their chemical stability, there are several microbes which can bio-transform or mineralize the PCBs aerobically or anaerobically. In this review paper, our objective was to summarize the information regarding PCB-degrading enzymes and microbes. The review suggested that the most proficient PCB degraders during anaerobic condition are Dehalobacter, Dehalococcoides, and Desulfitobacterium and in aerobic condition are Burkholderia, Achromobacter, Comamonas, Ralstonia, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Alcaligenes etc., showing the broadest substrate among bacterial strains. Enzymes found in soil such as dehydrogenases and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) esterases have the capability to breakdown PCBs. Biphenyl upper pathway involves four enzymes: dehydrogenase (bphB), multicomponent dioxygenase (bphA, E, F, and G), second dioxygenase (bphC), hydrolase, and (bphD). Biphenyl dioxygenase is considered as the foremost enzyme used for aerobic degradation of PCBs in metabolic pathway. It has been proved that several micro-organisms are responsible for the PCB metabolization. The review provides novel strategies for e-waste-contaminated soil management.
Topics: Biodegradation, Environmental; Electronic Waste; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants
PubMed: 33411303
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11996-2 -
Chemosphere Nov 2022Fish absorb dioxins from the environment through water and contact with sediments but the main source is food. These contaminants also enter the human body with food,...
Fish absorb dioxins from the environment through water and contact with sediments but the main source is food. These contaminants also enter the human body with food, including through the consumption of fish. This study presents the dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in 145 samples of four fish species (herring, sprat, sea trout, salmon) caught in the southern Baltic Sea. The study results permit assessing whether the efforts made in recent years to reduce dioxin and PCB emissions into the environment have translated into decreases in concentrations of these pollutants in Baltic Sea fishes and whether these raw fish materials meet food law requirements. The safest fish species with regard to dioxins were designated, as were those of which consumption should be limited. The influence of fish age (length) and weight on dioxin and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (dl-PCB) concentrations was investigated. The correlation between fat content and dioxin concentration was determined. The Baltic Sea region and fishing ports from which the least contaminated fish come were also determined. The studies indicated that dioxin and PCB concentrationsin fishes from Polish fishing areas are currently lower than they were twenty years ago.
Topics: Animals; Benzofurans; Dioxins; Fishes; Humans; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 35810860
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135614