55 
Table 9: Aquatic toxic properties of sPCAs and mPCAs. 
Test system 
sPCA 
mPCA 
Acute toxicity algae IC50 [mg/1] 
0.043 
>3.2 
Acute toxicity daphnia EC50 [mg/1] 
0.3 
0.059 
Acute toxicity fish LC50 [mg/1] 
>100 
>10’000 
Chronic toxicity daphnia NOEC [mg/1] 
0.005 
0.01 
Chronic toxicity fish NOEC [mg/1] 
0.28 
0.6 
Data from: OSPAR (2002) 
In Germany, the production of all PCA was stopped in 1998. Moreover, PC A 
application is prohibited for metal working and leather treatment since summer 2003 
(European Community, 2002). 
Compared to other chlorinated persistent organic pollutants, limited information is 
available about the toxicity of PCAs. PC As have low acute toxicity (Farrar, 2000), but 
are suspected carcinogens, since liver, thyroid, and kidney carcinomas were observed in 
mice (Bucher et al., 1997). 
Moreover, sPCAs showed chronic toxicity to aquatic biota, whereas mPCAs and lPCAs 
did not (Thompson, 2000). 
sPCAs have been included in the list of substances for priority action of the Convention 
for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the north-east Atlantic (OSPAR, 2000), 
in the list of priority dangerous substances of the European water framework directive 
(European Community, 2001) and in that of selected substances for immediate priority 
action of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM, 2002). 
Due to their widespread and mainly unrestricted use and due to the properties 
mentioned above, PCAs are present in aquatic and terrestrial food webs of rural and 
remote areas. However, information about environmental burden is still very scarce. 
Typical PCA concentrations in the environment reported prior to this study are 
summarised in Table 10. Due to the very different physical properties of PCA congeners 
and homologues, partial fractionation of the original technical composition may occur 
during phase transition and atmospheric transport.