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Article: The PCB peril in perspective. (disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls) (includes related article)
- Article from:
- Process Engineering
- Article date:
- July 1, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Centaur Communications Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Polychlorinated biphenyls - the phrase may not trip off the tongue, but, along with chlorofluorocarbons and dioxins, it has firmly entered the public consciousness. More commonly known as PCBs, these chemicals have generated much controversy. Much of the debate has centred on the import of PCB-containing waste for disposal at hazardous waste incinerators in the UK. This has tended to give the impression that the UK itself has no PCB problem - nothing could be further from the truth. As recently as the 1970s, PCBs were regarded as useful and benign products. They were widely manufactured and incorporated into a host of industrial and domestic equipment. As a result, despite ...