PCBs, used to manage risks from the flammability of dielectric fluids and to increase the durability of elastic sealants, had declining environmental concentrations after legislation banning new production was passed during the 1970s and 1980s in Europe and North America. To answer why PCB temporal trends are now nearly stable and if current policies will further reduce concentrations and our exposure, we estimated PCB stocks in Toronto, Canada (population of 2.5 million) of 437 (282?796) tonnes, of which 97 and 3% are in closed sources and building sealants, respectively.

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