PHAR 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Polychlorinated Biphenyl, Plant Hormone, Chloracne
Document Summary
Found in: fatty meats, contaminated fish and game. Key: chemicals in the environment: organic compounds, hydrocarbons- c and h only, major source from petroleum and natural gas and incomplete combustion of organic material. Oil spills, cigarettes, combustion of fossil fuels: polychlorinated biphenyl"s (pcbs)-stable, nonpolar, unreactive viscous liquids with low volatility, used as hydraulic fluids, coolants, fluids in transformers, lubricants, and plasticizers. Most are now banned but they persist in the environment (hudson river (superfund site) & general electric) finished dredging the hudson. These (cid:272)he(cid:373)i(cid:272)als are readily degrada(cid:271)le (cid:271)ut they (cid:272)a(cid:374) (cid:862)drift(cid:863) and cause problems. Agent orange was used as a defoliant in the vietnam war to expose enemy troop movement in the jungles. It was a mixture of 2,4-d and 2,4,5-t. Unfortunately, agent orange contained tcdd (dioxin) as a trace contaminant. Tcdd exposure: chloracne is caused to high acute exposure.
