doi: 10.1111/cote.12167 Polychlorinated biphenyls in pigments: inadvertent production and environmental Coloration significance Technology Lisa Rodenburg,a Jia Guoa and Robert Christieb,* aDepartment of Environmental Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA bSchool of Textiles and Design, Heriot-Watt University, Scottish Borders Campus, Netherdale, Galashiels, TD1 3HF, UK Feature article Email:
[email protected] Society of Dyers and Colourists Received: 18 December 2014; Accepted: 26 June 2015 Polychlorobiphenyls are toxic, bioaccumulative, and persistent chemicals whose intentional manufacture has been banned throughout the developed world. Polychlorobiphenyls may be generated inadvertently during the production of certain pigments, including diarylides. This inadvertent production is allowed under various regulatory schemes, such as the Toxic Substances Control Act in the United States and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Generally, these regulations require polychlorobiphenyl levels in batches of pigment to be less than certain regulatory limits, usually 50 ppm. A growing body of evidence suggests that the use of pigments is dispersing polychlorobiphenyls throughout the environment. Polychlorobiphenyl congeners associated with pigments have been found throughout the United States in sediments and in surface waters at levels exceeding the prevailing water quality standards. A recent Japanese government study reported measured polychlorobiphenyl concentrations well