Distribution and excretion of two chlorinated biphenyl isomers: 4-chlorobiphenyl and decachlorobiphenyl in lactating bovine.

One lactating cow was given a 4-chlorobiphenyl (50 mgm/kgm) as a single oral dose and was killed seven days postadministration. The presence of this compound was not detected in tissues, urine and milk. However, 28.9% of the total dose given was recovered in feces during the period of seven days postadministration. Another lactating cow received decachlorobiphenyl orally as single dose (50 mgm/kgm) and was also killed seven days postadministration. This totally chlorinated biphenyl was recovered at low concentrations from all tissues analyzed. The cumulative excretion into milk and feces accounted for 0.025 and 25.02% respectively. Decachlorobiphenyl was detected in urine.

The effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1254) on chicken egg production, fertility and hatchability.

Laying hens and roosters were given rations containing 0, 5 or 50 ppm of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) as Aroclor 1254 for up to 39 weeks. Due to drastic decline in production and hatchability of fertile eggs, the 50 ppm treatment was replaced with control ration at 14 weeks and the residual effects were investigated. Following the withdrawal of PCB from the ration, the affected parameters slowly returned to the control range. The 5ppm level of PCB reduced egg production but not hatchability of fertile eggs. Fertility for the 5ppm PCB group in the first 14 weeks was similar to the other groups but showed a significantly greater decline in the last 14 weeks. Concentration of PCB in eggs of both treatment groups increased until maximum concentrations were reached. These maxima persisted until the end of the experiment or until the withdrawal of PCB from the ration. Following withdrawal of higher level of PCB, the PCB declined in concentration but persisted in eggs over a five month period.

Dietary effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on mink.

Poisoning occurred in 32 mink fed diets containing meat from cows which had been fed a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), Aroclor 1254. No live kits were produced and all adult mink died during a 105 day period of feeding a ration containing 3.57 ppm of PCB. At a level of 0.64 ppm of PCB in ration one of 12 mink produced three kits, all of which died during the first day after birth. Clinical signs were limited to weight loss and passage of black tarry feces. The gross lesions seen were yellowish discoloration of the liver and hemorrhage into the abdominal cavity or gastrointestinal tract. Microscopic lesions were nephrosis, fatty de-generation and necrosis of the liver, brain edema, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and fibrosis of coronary arteries. It is concluded that mink are highly sensitive to small quantities of PCB fed for an extended period of time.

Experimental polychlorinated biphenyl toxicosis in germfree pigs.

The effects of polychlorinated biphenyls were studied in eight germfree pigs. Beginning at fourteen days of age, two pigs each were fed daily 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight of polychlorinated biphenyls as Aroclor 1254. Three germfree pigs were negative controls. Clinically the treated pigs had inappetance, a hemorrhagic diarrhea, erythema of the nose and the anus, retarded growth, distended abdomen and at the higher dose levels, incoordination and coma followed by death. Deaths occurred in 11 to 35 days after exposure. At necropsy, the piglets exhibited grossly enlarged mottled liver, erosions of the gastric mucosa, hemorrhages through the mesentery and the intestinal wall, a fibrinous pericarditis, a hypoplastic thymus and congested swollen thyroid glands. The histopathological lesions included hepatic centrolobular necrosis, interstitial myocarditis, endocarditis, myopathy of the muscles, gastric erosions and colitis. All of the organs examined for polychlorinated biphenyls had elevated residue levels which were particularly high in the fat, liver, psoas muscle, brain and kidney and were higher than has been reported in conventional pigs fed approximately equal concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls. The severity of clinical signs, pathological changes and tissue concentrations were directly related to the dose administered and were more pronounced in the germfree pigs than has been described in conventional pigs.

Tissue distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1254) in cockerels: relation to the duration of exposure and observations on pathology.

Day old cockerels were given a ration containing 500 ppm of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) as Aroclor 1254. Mortality was recorded and various tissues analyzed for PCB levels. Tissue concentrations of PCB increased in direct relation with the time of the experiment and with the survival period of birds. The PCB ratios between liver, kidney and muscle to that in the brain were constant through the duration of the study. Pathological examination revealed extensive hydropericardium and edema in the lung, muscle and subcutis; hemorrhages in muscles, digestive tract, lung and kidney; myocarditis; kidney and liver necrosis and hepatitis.

Kinetics of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Aroclor 1254) in Lactating Bovines and Their Distribution in Dairy Products.

Lactating cows were given orally, single or multiple graded doses of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) as Aroclor 1254 and the tissue distribution and excretion were measured. Persistence of PCB in milk was determined at all dose levels of PCB administered. A distinct predilection of PCB for tissues with high lipid content was noted. Similarly, PCB appeared in higher concentration in dairy products with high fat content.

Effects of some commercial preparations of polychlorinated biphenyls in growing piglets.

Sixty-four piglets were given ad libitum commercial rations containing 250 ppm of polychlorinated biphenyls as Aroclor 1232, Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1254 for periods up to 12 weeks. The toxic effects of the polychlorinated biphenyls upon plasma testosterone levels, the blood coagulation system, the gross- and micropathological changes as well as the extent and differences in their distribution and accumulation were studied. Principals given Aroclor 1232, Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1254 for the 12 week period gained 30, 10 and 50% more in body weight respectively than did controls. In the context of the present experiment, Aroclors (especially Aroclor 1254) at 250 ppm level in the ration, appeared to act as growth promoting substances. The mode and site of action of this effect is not known. The gross and micropathological examinations of controls and principals gave no evidence of anomalies. Similarly, the data on various parameters of blood coagulation did not reveal any disturbances. However, testosterone levels in plasma were elevated in male piglets given Aroclors. Analyses of polychlorinated biphenyls showed that the highest concentrations were present in adipose tissues of all treated animals. A cumulative tendency was also evident. The levels were relatively high in brain, in some instances higher than in liver of the same group. Levels in hepatic and muscular tissue were, in many instances, of the same magnitude.