Document 06MpQkVz8gEYNYXaQpJyB6Byx

0 # \ //esilnghouse Electric Corporation ATTACHMENT wfsirruiik.icnt Zi'fotri Cruet Pmjcuitn^Brni)ijn4 1577? 3 . i ! November 22, 1976 TO INDUSTRY PURCHASING EXECUTIVES Since the la te 1 9 3 0 's, the e l e c t r i c a l industry has manufactured apparatus using a sk a re ls (which contain p o ly c h lo rin ate d bLphenyls, or PCB's) as a coolant and' i n s u la t in g f l u i d , acd app a ra tu s using mineral o i l s . Users have c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y s p e c i f i e d PCB's f o r use in i n s t a l l a t i o n s where a high degree of fire resistan ce i s required. In l a t e 1970 s t u d i e s began to I n d i c a t e that PC8's had a tendency to p e r s i s t and accumulate in the environment. Since that time, Westinghouse has attached an a d d i t i o n a l Id e n t ify in g l a b e l to each a s k a r e l - f i l l e d transformer sold. As a r e s u l t o f r e c e n t I n v e s t i g a t i o n s , we have det er mined t h a t some o i l - ; f i l l e d t r a n s f o r m e r s may c o n t a i n v a r y i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f P CB' s . There i s no o p e r a t i n g problem wi t h t r a n s f o r m e r s t h a t may have PCB's mixed with miner al o i l . The e l e c t r i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s remain b a s i c a l l y unchanged. C u r r e n t l y t h e r e a r e no n a t i o n a l l y e s t a b l i s h e d s t a n d a r d s f o r a l l o w a b l e l e v e l s o f PCB's in o i l f o r c l o s e d e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m s . A number o f s t a t e s have recently enacted le g isla tio n providing for special reporting, labeling and/or disposition of PCB's. Because le g is l a t io n va ries in d ifferen t sta te s, it i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t c u s t o m e r s " i n s t i t u t e any s p e c i a l p r o c e d u r e s which may be required for conformance. In a d d i t i o n , when p e r f o r m i n g r e p a i r , r o u t i n e maint enance or d i s p o s a l , o i l f i l l e d t r a n s f o r m e r s should be c hec ked f o r the p r e s e n c e o f P CB' s . We a l s o s u g g e s e t hat you c he c k your own t r a n s f o r m e r o i l s t o r a g e and h a n d l i n g s yst ems for possible presence of PCB's. In order to determine the e x te n t o f the presence o f PCB's in o i l - f i l l e d envir onment s, the N a t i o n a l E l e c t r i c a l M a n u f a c t u r e r s A s s o c i a t i o n (NEMA) has commissioned a st u d y by a s p e c i a l c a s k f o r c e . This study could Include e l e c t r ic a l apparatus as well as o i l - s t o r a g e and transportation f a c i l i t i e s * D. P. K e i s e r M a r k e t i n g Manager T r a n s m i s s i o n and D i s t r i b u t i o n Croup - ' NPC00026530 753867