Farmed Atlantic Salmon or Wild Caught Pacific Salmon?
Farmed Atlantic Salmon is cheaper than Wild Caught Pacific Salmon, but it has been linked to high levels of PCBs.
What is PCBs? Pre-1977, a chemical was made for use in electrical equipment such as transformers and was also used in heat transfer fluids, hydraulic fluids, lubricants, and plasticisers.
This manmade group of chemicals was scientifically known as Polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.
This group of chemicals could either be an oily liquid or a solid.
It varied from being clear to being yellow in color.
It had no taste and no smell, which made and still makes it hard to tell if this chemical is in the air you are breathing.
This chemical was discontinued for manufacturing in 1977 and all uses for it were banned in 1979.
Although it was banned by the U.
S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), many products that were made prior to 1979 will still have it as a component.
Some of these products that are still in use today are the fluorescent lights.
Think of your parents and grandparents homes or maybe even in yours.
When you go into their kitchen, you might still see the old fluorescent lights that were installed back in the 1960's and 1970's.
These light bulbs and their ballasts seem to last forever.
Another common place that these lights are frequently seen include schools and businesses.
The danger doesn't happen until the light fixture has a leak or if the bulb breaks.
Just about everyone you know has been exposed to the PCBs at one time or another.
One good thing, since the PCBs were banned in 1979, only some products left contain the chemical, and the levels in the environment and the food chain have declined due to fewer and fewer pieces of equipment still being used.
Once the PCBs was banned, the public was informed of the dangers, and everyone was shown how to properly dispose of the equipment, the result is that the risk is now almost nil.
The biggest risk is how the PCB's chemicals were originally released into our air, water, and soil through spills, leaks from electrical equipment, and improper disposal and storage.
Most of the exposure is by eating contaminated fish, especially salmon, meat, or dairy products.
Farmed Atlantic Salmon is one that has high levels of the PCBs, because of the spills, and also because of the dumping of chemicals into the water, before that was banned.
Although the effects of PCBs is uncertain in humans, studies have shown that PCBs in animals can affect their immune and reproductive systems.
Large amounts in animals over a short time had caused cancer.
Although there is no evidence that PCBs cause cancer in humans, it does have evidence that birth defects had been linked to mothers who had been exposed to PCBs.
This is one reason pregnant women are warned to eat only a limited of salmon per week.
How To Avoid Further Exposure to PCBs:
What is PCBs? Pre-1977, a chemical was made for use in electrical equipment such as transformers and was also used in heat transfer fluids, hydraulic fluids, lubricants, and plasticisers.
This manmade group of chemicals was scientifically known as Polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.
This group of chemicals could either be an oily liquid or a solid.
It varied from being clear to being yellow in color.
It had no taste and no smell, which made and still makes it hard to tell if this chemical is in the air you are breathing.
This chemical was discontinued for manufacturing in 1977 and all uses for it were banned in 1979.
Although it was banned by the U.
S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), many products that were made prior to 1979 will still have it as a component.
Some of these products that are still in use today are the fluorescent lights.
Think of your parents and grandparents homes or maybe even in yours.
When you go into their kitchen, you might still see the old fluorescent lights that were installed back in the 1960's and 1970's.
These light bulbs and their ballasts seem to last forever.
Another common place that these lights are frequently seen include schools and businesses.
The danger doesn't happen until the light fixture has a leak or if the bulb breaks.
Just about everyone you know has been exposed to the PCBs at one time or another.
One good thing, since the PCBs were banned in 1979, only some products left contain the chemical, and the levels in the environment and the food chain have declined due to fewer and fewer pieces of equipment still being used.
Once the PCBs was banned, the public was informed of the dangers, and everyone was shown how to properly dispose of the equipment, the result is that the risk is now almost nil.
The biggest risk is how the PCB's chemicals were originally released into our air, water, and soil through spills, leaks from electrical equipment, and improper disposal and storage.
Most of the exposure is by eating contaminated fish, especially salmon, meat, or dairy products.
Farmed Atlantic Salmon is one that has high levels of the PCBs, because of the spills, and also because of the dumping of chemicals into the water, before that was banned.
Although the effects of PCBs is uncertain in humans, studies have shown that PCBs in animals can affect their immune and reproductive systems.
Large amounts in animals over a short time had caused cancer.
Although there is no evidence that PCBs cause cancer in humans, it does have evidence that birth defects had been linked to mothers who had been exposed to PCBs.
This is one reason pregnant women are warned to eat only a limited of salmon per week.
How To Avoid Further Exposure to PCBs:
- Wash fruits and vegetables before eating them.
- Replace and discard old fluorescent lights containing PCBs before they fail and leak.
- Check to see if the pump has failed if an oily film or fuel odor in your well water and you have a submersible pump.
If it has contact your local Department of Public Health.
They will help you with information on how to clean the pump and the area. - Buy the Wild Pacific Salmon and not the Farmed Atlantic Salmon.
