Other Nations' PCB Thresholds

Denmark

In this article https://www.nature.com/articles/srep24571

Section: Who is in the cohort/PCB measurements and data collection

Recommended Danish action levels are as follows: <300 ng/m3: exposure not presumed to pose a risk; 300–3000 ng/m3: action plan required to bring levels down; >3000 ng/m3: immediate need for action to bring levels down.

See Table 1 for contaminated sites (most had mean contamination over 1000ng/m^3)

Germany

In this article, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3113507/

3rd paragraph of section 1:

Children in schools with 690 – 20,800 ng PCB/m³ air had median levels of 6, 9, and 5 ng/l PCB28, 52, and 101, respectively, whereas children in non-contaminated schools had levels below the detection level of 1 ng/L [23]. Both groups had no significant differences in PCB138, 153 and 180 levels, indicating that indoor air exposure contributed to the PCB body burden. In Germany the non-occupational tolerable indoor air PCB concentration was set at 300 ng/m³ based on a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of a total of 1 ug/kg body weight [24].

New York City

In this article https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-015-4574-8

2012 study of NYC schools: The median indoor air total PCB concentration based on 64 measurements across six schools was 318 ng/m3 with a range of <49–2920 ng/m3.

In this same article:

The following reference values for indoor air PCB levels were summarized and reviewed by Hansen and Keiding (2013). The earliest indoor air exposure level was recommended in Germany (1996) set as an annual mean action value of 300 ng/m3, with an intervention value of 3000 ng/m3 (calculated as PCB6 multiplied with a correction factor of 5). Supplementary values were established by the health authority in Schleswig-Holstein including thresholds for recommended indoor cleaning and sanitation procedures. Switzerland prepared a maximal tolerable annual mean value for indoor home exposure to PCB of 2000 and 6000 ng/m3 for exposures in schools and other institutions using the same analytical method as in Germany. The Danish Health and Medicines Authority introduced two recommended action levels for PCB in indoor air (2009): levels exceeding 3000 ng/m3 called for immediate action, and exposure to levels between 300 and 3000 ng/m3 were considered to be a possible health risk requiring an action plan to reduce the levels. This was later modified to specify that levels between 2000 and 3000 ng/m3 required action within 1 year. In the USA, the EPA has established a site-specific action level of 50 ng PCB/m3 requiring further investigation and an acceptable long-term average exposure concentration of 300 ng/m3. For schools, the USEPA has calculated what are described as prudent public health levels that maintain PCB exposures below the “reference dose”—the amount of PCB exposure that EPA does not believe will cause harm (20 ng PCB/kg body weight per day). Indoor air levels recognized PCB intakes from average exposure to PCBs from all other major sources. The levels were calculated for all ages of children from toddlers in day care to adolescents in high school as well as for adult school employees. These levels are presented in Tables 3 and 4.

Canada

Canada does not appear to have any regulations for airborne PCBs

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-living/your-health/environment/pcbs.html

Other Regulators Disagree with VT - see more here.