多氯联苯作为环境污染物被首次鉴定是在1966年。它们对于人类健康的危害是在1968年通过所谓“油症事件”而被证明,当时有1600多人食用被多氯联苯污染的米糠油后致病。多氯联苯除了能引起急性中毒之外,且已表明能致癌。1981年Schaffer等观察到由口灌注高剂量和较低剂量氯化二苯的老鼠,其肝脏有癌前期的变化,并可见到肿瘤的结节和癌瘤。 PCBs were first identified as environmental pollutants in 1966. Their harm to human health was demonstrated in 1968 by the so-called “oil-related incident” when more than 1,600 people became ill after consuming rice bran oil contaminated with PCBs. In addition to being able to cause acute poisoning, PCBs have been shown to cause cancer. In 1981, Schaffer et al. Observed that mice with high and low doses of dibenzyl chloride were perfused with oral intraperitoneal changes in their liver with precancerous changes and tumor nodules and carcinomas.