Pentachlorophenol: environmental partitioning and human exposure.

This paper uses a six compartment environmental partitioning model to explore the transport and accumulation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) within and between various environmental media. Environmental concentrations were then used to estimate the amount of PCP entering the food chain and the long-term, average daily intake of PCP by the general population of the U.S. Results show that PCP partitions mainly into soil (96.5%) and that the food chain, especially fruits, vegetables, and grains, accounts for 99.9% of human exposure to PCP. The long-term, average daily intake of PCP is estimated to be 16 micrograms/day, which agrees well with a previous estimate of 19 micrograms/day (Geyer et al. 1987).