Because of the effectiveness of the the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are often called “legacy” pollutants. Unfortunately, the assumption that PCBs are no longer used is incorrect. Although PCBs were banned from sale, they were not banned from use. PCBs are still in use throughout the country. Furthermore, the assumption that PCBs are no longer produced is also incorrect. PCBs are produced as unintentional byproducts in many industrial processes. As a result, PCBs are found in some common household products. Their continued use and ongoing production explain the high concentrations of PCBs in the air of schools, homes and cities. Emissions of PCBs within schools presents a major exposure risk and inhalation is the now the largest exposure route of these toxic compounds for many children. School air is often even more contaminated than major cities and higher than outdoor air near major PCB Superfund sites like New Bedford Harbor, Fox River Wisconsin, and Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal Lake Michigan.
The study of airborne PCB emissions builds on the ground-breaking if the late UMN Professor Deb Swackhamer. Hornbuckle was a long-time collaborator of Prof. Deb Swackhamer. Like Deb, Keri earned a chemistry degree from Grinnell College and studied the fate, transport, and implications of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes. Deb was an important advisor and committee member for Keri’s Ph.D. from the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geoengineering at the University of Minnesota.
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