Book Review: Biocidal: Confronting the Poisonous Legacy of PCBs

Biocidal: Confronting the Poisonous Legacy of PCBs, by Ted Dracos, is a briskly written and worthwhile account of the history of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, the "magic fluid" cooked up by shoestring entrepreneurs and then spread the world over by industry and pollution. PCBs were so useful to manufacturing that they were used in a wide variety of products, but the health effects of exposure led the U.S. government to ban their use starting in the 1970s. I was compelled to read the book primarily because I've written about PCB contamination in the Hudson River, where General Electric Co. dumped its waste (plausibly claiming it was legal, though there are counter-arguments) for 30 years, and where one of the largest toxic waste cleanups the nation has ever seen is now underway.

For a history of the substance, its creators and users, its industry boosters and its purported health effects, the book does the job. But it seemed a little under-reported at times. Why no quotes from experts that had been interviewed? Why no interviews with people affected by PCB poisoning? Or former company men with an insider view of the described malfeasance? Why such a reliance on phone interviews and, especially, website visits? At times, that or the author's preconceived biases inspired doubt in some of his conclusions; the former leads one to doubt the latter.

It's easy to imagine the author with a hammer (PCBs) hitting every conceivable nail (particularly in the sections on the health impacts of PCB pollution) when in fact maybe there are some screws to be turned. That said, you can't help be persuaded by the author's argument that the companies that made, marketed and used PCBs neglected the public interest repeatedly, systematically and with unhealthy consequences, for humans and the environment, and that they did so often with the help of weak government policies or political friends in high places.

Biocidal: Confronting the Poisonous Legacy of PCBs, $25.50 at amazon.com.