PCBs and Health: The Hudson River Communities Project

Summary of Average PCB Levels measured in the Hudson River Communities Project

  Average PCB level
Study Group Comparison Group Living within ½ mile Living beyond ½ mile Living downwind Living upwind Fish eaters1 Non-fish eaters2
Outdoor Air (ng/m3) 0.72*** 0.40 0.713** 0.504 0.73** 0.55 - -
Blood (ppb) 3.5 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.65* 3.1

ng/m3 = nanograms per cubic meter
ppb = parts per billion
1 Fish eaters from both study and comparison groups.
2 Non-fish eaters from both study and comparison groups.
3 Results for people living within ¾ mile. NOTE: The air group data utilized ¾ of a mile rather than ½ mile because of the lower number of participants in the air group as compared to the blood group.
4 Results for people living beyond ¾ mile.
5 Eight fish eaters, or 16% of the fish eaters, had blood PCB levels of more than 5 ppb. One fish eater had a PCB level above 10 ppb.
*** Statistically significant difference between groups at .<0.01
** Statistically significant difference between groups at .<0.05
* Statistically significant difference between groups at .<0.10