It seems likely that we would find more children with elevated blood PCB levels if we sampled more methodically. Sampling for all media and for the blood analysis does not describe the nature and extent of contamination. Furthermore, the sampling does not describe exposure pathway concentrations, and it does not adequately describe proximate sources of contamination. There is a potential that children are living near an undiscovered hot spot. PCBs are a suspected human carcinogen.
Cancer is a disease that takes a long time to develop.
Early life exposures to carcinogens are anticipated to be more likely to cause cancer than exposures later in life. PCBs may adversely affect neurological or behavioral developmental in young children.