January 1977, required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to 

 establish labeling and disposal requirements for PCBs, and mandated an 

 eventual ban on the manufacture and processing of PCBs (Bremer 1983). 

 Effective July 1979, the final PCS ban rule was implemented, which prohibits 

 the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, and use of PCBs except 

 in a totally enclosed system, unless specifically exempted by EPA (Bremer 

 1983). Although the ban has been in effect for about 6 years, the current 

 environmental burden of PCBs in water, sediments, disposal sites, and in 

 deployed transformers and other containers is sufficiently large, estimated at 

 82 million kg (D'ltri and Kamrin 1983), to present potentially significant 

 hazards to fish and wildlife resources. 



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environmental hazards associated with PCBs, with emphasis on aquatic organisms 

 and wildlife, and review quality criteria recommendations for the protection 

 of sensitive species. This account is part of a continuing series of synoptic 

 reviews prepared in response to requests for information from environmental 

 specialists of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



