Polychlorinated biphenyls
Chemical Groups: Organic, Polyaromatic compounds, Polychlorinated biphenyls
Also Known As: PCBs
CASRN: 1336-36-3
Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life
Freshwater
Short Term Concentration (µg/L) No data
Long Term Concentration (µg/L)
0.001
No fact sheet created. For more information on this guideline, please refer to Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (CCREM 1987).
This water quality guideline (originally published in Canadian Water Quality Guidelines [CCREM 1987 + Appendixes] in 1987 or 1991 [PCBs in marine waters]) is no longer recommended because environmental exposure is predominantly via sediment, soil, and/or tissue. Therefore, the reader is referred to the respective guidelines for those media. The water quality guideline may be used in the derivation of guidelines for other media where needed.
This substance meets the criteria for track 1 substances under the national CCME Policy for the Management of Toxic Substances (PMTS) (i.e., persistent, bioaccumulative, primarily the result of human activity, and CEPA-toxic or equivalent), and should be subject to virtual elimination strategies. Guidelines can serve as action levels or interim management objectives towards vitual elimination.
Date 1987
Marine
Short Term Concentration (µg/L) No data
Long Term Concentration (µg/L)
0.01
No fact sheet created. For more information on this guideline, please refer to Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (CCREM 1987).
This water quality guideline (originally published in Canadian Water Quality Guidelines [CCREM 1987 + Appendixes] in 1987 or 1991 [PCBs in marine waters]) is no longer recommended because environmental exposure is predominantly via sediment, soil, and/or tissue. Therefore, the reader is referred to the respective guidelines for those media. The water quality guideline may be used in the derivation of guidelines for other media where needed.
This substance meets the criteria for track 1 substances under the national CCME Policy for the Management of Toxic Substances (PMTS) (i.e., persistent, bioaccumulative, primarily the result of human activity, and CEPA-toxic or equivalent), and should be subject to virtual elimination strategies. Guidelines can serve as action levels or interim management objectives towards vitual elimination.
Date 1991
Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Agriculture
Irrigation
Concentration (µg/L) No data
Date No data
Livestock
Concentration (µg/L) No data
Date No data
Sediment Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life
Freshwater
Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) ISQG 34.1
| Guideline | % ≤ ISQG | ISQG < % < PEL | % ≥ PEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total PCBs | 4 | 40 | 50 |
Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) PEL 277
| Guideline | % ≤ ISQG | ISQG < % < PEL | % ≥ PEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total PCBs | 4 | 40 | 50 |
Date 2001
Marine
Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) ISQG 21.5
| Guideline | % ≤ ISQG | ISQG < % < PEL | % ≥PEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aroclor 1254 | 1 | 24 | 76 |
| Total PCBs | 16 | 37 | 55 |
Concentration (µg/kg dry weight) PEL 189
| Guideline | % ≤ ISQG | ISQG < % < PEL | % ≥ PEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aroclor 1254 | 1 | 24 | 76 |
| Total PCBs | 16 | 37 | 55 |
Date 2001
Soil Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health
Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) Agricultural 0.5
Data are sufficient and adequate to calculate only a Soil Quality Guideline for Environmental Health (SQGE), which is less than the existing interim soil quality criterion (CCME, 1991) for this land use. Therefore the SQGE becomes the soil quality guideline, which supersedes the interim soil quality criterion for this land use.
For guidelines derived prior to 2004, differentiation between soil texture (coarse/fine) is not applicable.
Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) Residential/ parkland 1.3
Data are sufficient and adequate to calculate only a Soil Quality Guideline for Environmental Health (SQGE), which is less than the existing interim soil quality criterion (CCME, 1991) for this land use. Therefore the SQGE becomes the soil quality guideline, which supersedes the interim soil quality criterion for this land use.
For guidelines derived prior to 2004, differentiation between soil texture (coarse/fine) is not applicable.
Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) Commercial 33
Data are sufficient and adequate to calculate only a Soil Quality Guideline for Environmental Health (SQGE), which is less than the existing interim soil quality criterion (CCME, 1991) for this land use. Therefore the SQGE becomes the soil quality guideline, which supersedes the interim soil quality criterion for this land use.
In site-specific situations where the size and/or location of commercial and industrial land uses may impact primary, secondary or tertiary consumers, the soil and food ingestion guideline is recommended as the Soil Quality Guideline for Environmental health (SQGE).
For guidelines derived prior to 2004, differentiation between soil texture (coarse/fine) is not applicable.
Concentration (mg/kg dry weight) Industrial 33
Data are sufficient and adequate to calculate only a Soil Quality Guideline for Environmental Health (SQGE), which is less than the existing interim soil quality criterion (CCME, 1991) for this land use. Therefore the SQGE becomes the soil quality guideline, which supersedes the interim soil quality criterion for this land use.
In site-specific situations where the size and/or location of commercial and industrial land uses may impact primary, secondary or tertiary consumers, the soil and food ingestion guideline is recommended as the Soil Quality Guideline for Environmental health (SQGE).
For guidelines derived prior to 2004, differentiation between soil texture (coarse/fine) is not applicable.
Date 1999
Tissue Residue Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Widlife Consumer of Aquatic Biota
Concentration (µg/L) Variable
Mammalian: 0.79 ng TEQ/kg diet wet weight
Note: TEQ refers to dioxin toxic equivalents using toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for PCBs for mammals developed by the World Health Organization in 1998. See fact sheet for supporting document for more details
Avian: 2.4 ng TEQ/kg diet wet weight
Note: TEQ refers to dioxin toxic equivalents using toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for PCBs for birds developed by the World Health Organization in 1998. See fact sheet for supporting document for more details
Date 1998
Groundwater Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health
(Coarse Soil) Concentration (mg/L) - Agricultural/Residential No data
(Coarse Soil) Concentration (mg/L) - Commercial/Industrial No data
(Fine Soil) Concentration (mg/L) - Agricultural/Residential No data
(Fine Soil) Concentration (mg/L) - Commercial/Industrial No data
Date No data
Resources
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs - Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life (2001)
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) - Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Environmental and Human Health (1999)
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) - Canadian Tissue Residue Guidelines for the Protection of Wildlife Consumers of Aquatic Biota (2001)