A comprehensive study outlining health risks connected to PCB exposure was released in Anniston on Tuesday night. The report states that PCB exposure can cause diabetes and heart disease in some age groups. It also found that adults in Anniston have four times the normal level of PCBs in their body, compared with the rest of the county.
Although children in Anniston reported PCB levels similar to the rest of the U.S., their intelligence can be affected. Children whose parents were exposed to PCBs have significantly lower I-Q scores than those were weren't. They also can exhibit decreased problem solving ability.
The report is a result of years of research. About a thousand people in Anniston were surveyed. The cost for the study tops three million dollars. It was paid for with federal funding.
More than a billion pounds of PCBs were produced within forty years. Anniston is one of only two cities in the country located near a PCB plant.
ABC 33/40 News to leave comments on news stories.