EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Pollution

    PCB Found in Sediment Samples of Deep-Sea Trench

    By: Paige Bennett
    Updated: April 19, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Sediment core from the Atacama Trench being cut up
    Sediment core from the Atacama Trench being cut up. A. Glud / Danish Center for Hadal Research at the University of Southern Denmark
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    Researchers have found polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in samples of sediment sourced about 8,000 meters deep in the Atacama Trench, a deep-sea trench in the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the coasts of Peru and Chile.

    Despite bans spanning back to the 1970s, PCB remains are still threatening the environment. New research, published in Nature Communications, shows how prevalent this toxin still is in ecosystems.

    The researchers collected sediment samples from five locations within the trench, with depths ranging from around 2,500 meters at bathyal sites to hadal sites deeper than 8,000 meters. Every sample of surface sediment contained PCB.

    More From EcoWatch
    • Sustainable Home Improvements You Can Make
    • How to Lower Your Energy Bill
    • A Brief History of Solar Energy

    PCB consists of around 209 substances, and polychlorinated biphenyls have been banned for decades. They were first manufactured in the U.S. in 1929 and were popular for industrial and commercial uses, because they are insulative, non-flammable and stable. In the U.S., PCBs were banned by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1979. They were also banned globally in the late ‘70s.

    According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PCB remains in environments for long periods of time and can easily be carried by air and water over long distances. PCBs can also accumulate in plants and fish. These toxins pose serious health risks and are widely considered as probably carcinogens for humans. They can also impact wildlife; one study found that these substances affect reproduction and immune systems in ways that threaten long-term viability of more than half of killer whale populations globally.

    The researchers didn’t find alarmingly high levels of PCBs in the trench, but they are higher than expected for such great distances under the sea.

    “It is thought-provoking that we find traces of human activity at the bottom of a deep-sea trench; a place that most people probably perceive as distant and isolated from our society,” Ronnie Glud, co-author of the study and director of the Danish Center for Hadal Research at the University of Southern Denmark, said in a statement. 

    “The Atacama samples do not show very high concentrations but considering that they were retrieved from the bottom of a deep-sea trench, they are relatively high. A priori no one would expect to find pollutants in such a place,” Glud added.

    With around two dozen or more deep-sea, or hadal, trenches globally, experts hope to investigate whether PCBs are also present in these areas. The Danish Center for Hadal Research has already collected and frozen several sediment samples from various deep-sea trenches during expeditions from 2021 through 2022.

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Paige Bennett

      Based in Los Angeles, Paige is a writer who is passionate about sustainability. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University and holds a certificate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She also specialized in sustainable agriculture while pursuing her undergraduate degree.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Bottom-Dwelling Marine Animals Thriving on Offshore Wind Farm Foundations
      In a discovery by researchers from Leiden University in the
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      How a Trainload of Toxic Chemicals Derailed Everyday Life in Ohio
      Every thirty minutes, a Norfolk Southern train passes through East
      By Joe Timmerman
      'Polluters Can No Longer Hide From Their Crimes': Fossil Fuel Companies Owe $5.4 Trillion in Reparations, Study Says
      The biggest fossil fuel companies in the world owe at
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Bottom-Dwelling Marine Animals Thriving on Offshore Wind Farm Foundations
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 26, 2023
        • Supreme Court Ruling Against EPA ‘Undoes a Half-Century of Progress’ in Protecting Waters of the United States
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 26, 2023
        • Soil Analysis in New Hampshire Finds Higher Levels of PFAS Than Previously Thought
          by Paige Bennett
          May 26, 2023
        • Meals on Wheels Is a Climate-Relief Model
          by Nexus Media
          May 26, 2023
        • ‘Clean Energy Is Moving Fast’: Investments in Renewables Will Overtake Fossil Fuels for the First Time This Year, IEA Says
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 25, 2023
        • Nearly Half of Earth’s Animal Species Are in Decline, Study Finds
          by Paige Bennett
          May 25, 2023
        • Silvopasture Is an Ancient, Climate-Smart Farming Practice. Can the Farm Bill Help Spur Its Renaissance?
          by Nexus Media
          May 25, 2023
        • How a Trainload of Toxic Chemicals Derailed Everyday Life in Ohio
          by Joe Timmerman
          May 25, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more