Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic Substances (PBTs)
This is DNR’s informational page on Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic substances, or using their short name, PBTs. Find out what PBTs are and explore the menu topics for more information on PBT characteristics, sources and effects on your health and the environment. Learn what you can do to reduce the amount of PBTs released in Wisconsin.
What are PBTs?
Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic substances, or PBTs, are chemical pollutants that raise special challenges for our society because of their unique properties that require special attention.
PBTs are persistent. PBTs are chemicals that last a long time in the environment. In other words, either they do not break down into safer components, or they do not break down as easily or as quickly as non-PBT chemicals. They may even go undetected for a long period of time because their initial concentrations are so small, yet they can build up to harmful levels in humans and other organisms and in the environment.
PBTs bioaccumulate. Animals and people accumulate PBTs in their bodies, primarily from the food they eat, but also from inadvertent ingestion and inhalation of soil and dust. As these chemicals move up the food chain, they increase in concentration to levels that may be harmful to human, wildlife and ecosystem health. Regardless of an individual’s eating habits, we as humans reside at the top of the food chain and are most at risk for increased PBT concentrations in our bodies and the adverse health effects caused by PBTs.
PBTs are toxic.
PBTs are toxic substances that can cause a wide range of health effects in fish, wildlife, and humans. They have been linked
to effects on the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, immune-response suppression, cancer, and
endocrine disruption.
Mercury, dioxin, PCBs, and lead are a few examples of PBTs. The activities that release these and other PBTs into our environment include large industrial sources as well as smaller sources such as burn barrels, consumer products and automobile and truck engines. In reality, we all contribute to the problem of PBTs in the environment, and can all help to be part of the solution.
Historic Actions. The Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have dealt with certain PBTs since the formation of those agencies in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Over the years, major strides have been made to reduce human exposure to these chemicals and to remove them from the environment.
For example, laws have been passed banning further production of lead based paint and establishing protections and disposal requirements for when it is removed. Leaded gasoline has been banned. The use of DDT and certain other toxic pesticides that were found to be accumulating in animals and fish have been banned.
Air and water emission limits have been established for toxic chemicals, many of which are PBTs. Two PBTs, mercury and dioxin, were significantly reduced as a result of waste incinerators in the state that ceased operation in order to comply with toxic rules that became effective during the late 1980s. Most of the waste incinerators that closed were very simple in design and had no air pollution control equipment.
At the same time, our technologies, the ways we operate our businesses and our lifestyles have changed. As a society we produce, use, and dispose of far more chemicals than ever, and there are more questions about the long-term effects of those chemicals on our health and our environment.
Our challenge in Wisconsin is to work together, individual citizens, the business community, environmental groups, educators and researchers, local governmental and state agencies to find solutions to address these chemicals while simultaneously meeting the needs of a changing society.
Contact Information
- Specific PBT Chemicals: Tara Bergeson, (608) 264-6043
- Reference For Other PBT Contacts: Marty Burkholder, (608) 264-8855
- PBT Web Site: Melody Marshall (608) 264-8851
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