A University of Iowa study published in Environmental Science & Technology has been selected as a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Extramural Paper of the Month.

The research was conducted by Nicholas Herkert and Jacob C. Jahnke, graduate students in civil and environmental engineering and graduate research assistants at IIHR--Hydroscience & Engineering, and Keri C. Hornbuckle, Donald E. Bently Professor of Engineering, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and researcher at IIHR.

The NIEHS grantees discovered that finished cabinetry is a predominant and previously unknown source of airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in residential homes.

The study, originally published in Environmental Science & Technology, revealed that both Aroclor and non-Aroclor sources of airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found in residential homes. Probably the last place anyone would want to find PCBs is in the kitchen, yet that's exactly where the UI scientists detected their presence, according to the new report. They say that the PCBs, which are widely considered carcinogenic, are unwanted byproducts of sealant breakdown in modern kitchen cabinetry.

To read the recognition from NIEHS, go to https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/2018/6/papers/dert/index.htm