Document 2j6Znpp8box5mMB1qbVOOkqrL

12-8, Roppongi 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106 Japan Refer inquiries and correspondence to: . Mrs. Mary Jane Baird, Research and Development Center P. O. Box 43, Schenectady, New York 12301, DIAL COMM 8 * 235-5068, quoting this letter's reference number MM-72-60 March 23, 1972 R.W. Roberts Research & Development Manager Materials Science and Engineering General Electric R&D Center Schenectady, New York 12301 cc: AS Hay CM Huggins SW Kantor Subject: Government Stops use of PCB ; - On Tuesday, March 21 the Japanese Government (MITI) ordered 23 industrial organizations to discontinue use of polychlorinated ' biphenyl (PCB). The order follows weeks of controversy during, which PCB was found in the milk of nursing mothers. The notification by MITI requested the industries to suspend production of electric appliances and parts containing PCB by September 1 of this year. As a result of the ban, manufacturers are expected to switch from PCB to mineral oil. The use of PCB in paints and carbon-paper was prohibited in February, 1972 and December, 1971 respectively. Some firms will be able to continue using PCB for special appl.i- cations, but the devices must be labeled as containing PCB. The firms who will be manufacturing devices outside the MITI ban will be required to report to MITI in advance as to the facilities they will install to facilitate the treatment and disposal of PCB- containing. waste. * Following the MITI announcement, the Sharp Corporation said it would entirely replace all PCB containing parts by the end of May in their electric appliance manufactureing operations. Sharp believes that the use of a subsitute for PCB will not lead, to any increase in production costs. ' MJM/tn M.J. Moore . Scientific Representative 4 DSW 363171 STLCOPCB4098368 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMk.NY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ^NTER TOKYO OFFICE - Azabu Crest Bldg. 12-8, Roppongi 4-chomc, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106 Japan . Refer inquiries and correspondence to: Mrs. Mary Jane Baird, Research and Development Center P, O. Box 43. Schenectady. New York 12301, DIAL COMM 8 * 235-5068, 'quoting this letter's reference number MM-72-70 * . March 29, 1972 W.D. Bellamy Environmental Unit Life Sciences Branch ` General Electric R&D Center Schenectady, New York 12301 . cc: AS Hay CM Huggins SW Kantor RW Roberts "Subject: Yeasts Discovered that Decompose PCB In a recent report (MM-72-60) a description of MITI*1s ban on further use of PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) by Japanese industry was given. Today the Japan Times reported that Professor Yoshio Sakagami of the Tokyo Institute of Technology has discovered two yeast-like "bugs" which decompose PCB. The two yeasts are: . 1) Rhodotorula - a red yeast found in the soil in Ibaraki ' Prefecture . . 2) Pityrosporum - found in the soil of Higashi-Murayama, Professor Sakagami has conducted tests on more than 1000 micro-organisms collected from all over Japan-. In his experiments, he put the yeasts in solutions containing 2500 ppm of PCB' and after 1 week found that the Rhodotorula had decomposed 40% of the PCB and the Pityrosporum about 30%. .' The article states that the mechanism is as yet unknown as are the decomposition products. This could possibly allow MITI to reverse its .ban if the decomposition products prove to be harmless. .. MJM/tn M. J //Moore Scientific Representative .-. : . DSW 363172 STLCOPCB4098369 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMWiNY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT -ENTER TOKYO OFFICE - Azabu Crest Bldg. 12-8, Roppongi 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 10G Japan .' ' Refer inquiries and correspondence to: Mrs. Mary Jane Baird, Research and Development Center P. 0. Box 43. Schenectady, New York 12301, DIAL COMM 8 * 235-5068. quoting this letter's reference number MM-72-73 . April v 10, 1972 R.W. Roberts Research & Development Manager Materials Science and Engineering General Electric Co., RDC Schenectady, New York 12301 cc: WD Bellamy RE Brooks JF Brown WR Kanne RA Koehler OH LeBlanc Subject: Power Generation Company to Drop PCB-Containing Equipment On Monday, (March 3) Kansai Electric Power Company (Osaka) notified domestic makers of transformers, capacitors and other heavy electrical equipment accessories of its decision to stop using any equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). Kansai is the second-largest of Japan's nine electric power ~ utility companies. This is just one more act on the part of government and/or industry in the face of mounting public pressure over the PCB pollution problem. Kansai thus became the first Japanese power company to discontinue the use of all equipment, containing PCB as insulator. Kansai officials have said that equipment purchases will be made only from those companies that have switched to mineral-oil. This means that the so-called "dry" type of equipment - used extensively in Japan until about 30 years ago - is expected to make a comeback. Kansai has made the demand retroactive to cover equip ment already on order. As a further precaution against possible pollution, the approximately 3,250 PCB - containing units now in use in Kansai installations will be watched closely for leakage. It is particularly interesting, to note that the power generating companies and railway systems are exempt from the recent MITI ban on the. use of PCB in electrical equipment. Even so, Kansai has elected to discontinue use of PCB containing equipment (public _ image ?) and it is expected that the other eight power companies will follow -suit. M.J^ Moore . Scientific Representative MJM/tn ' DSVV363173 STLCOPCB4098370 GENERAL ELECTRIC C0m(_1mY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INTER TOKYO OFFICE - Azabu Crest Bldg. 12-8, Roppongi 4-chomc, Minatoku, Tokyo, 106 Japan ' Refer inquiries and correspondence to: ' Mrs. Mary Jane Baird, Research and Development Center P. O. Box 43. Schenectady, New York 12301, DIAL COMM 8 * 235-5068, quoting this letter's reference number MM-72-85 April 18, ' 1972 W.D. Bellamy Environmental Unit Life Sciences Branch General Electric R&D Center Schenectady, New York 12301 cc: LT Baker JF Brown, Jr. CM Huggins RW Roberts G. Street RE Brooks Subject: More on the PCB Problem N. Saito, Health and Welfare Minister, promised Friday (April 14) that his ministry will set provisional national standards to control contamination of foodstuffs in Japan by PCB, These standards are expected to be published within the next two months. They are expected to be even more stringent than existing standards in foreign countries. The possibility exists that all fish and marine products taken from badly contaminated coastal areas will be banned from domestic or export markets. . Japan has only two manufacturers of PCB: Kanegaf.uchi Chemical Industries Co. and Mitsubishi Monsanto Chemical Co., a semi-American firm. Mitsubishi Monsanto stopped production in March and Kanegafuchi .will discontinue production in June. These two companies will be made to retrieve about 70% of the PCB now in use as a heat transmitting medium and dispose of it in a manner specified by MITI. - . . . \ '' .- ` . M.J.^Moore . - . Scientific Representative MJM/tn 1* . * DSW 363174 STLCOPCB4098371 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMp/~)' RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT C' ITER TOKYO OFFICE - Azabu Cresnildy. W,) 12-8, Roppongi 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106 Japan - RECEIVED Refer inquiries and correspondence to: Mrs. Mary Jane Baird, Research and Development Center , P, O. Box -13, Schenectady, New York 12301, DIAL COMM 8 * 235-5068, quoting this letter's reference number MM--72-93 'E. L SIMONS April 19, 1972 R.E. Brooks Environmental Unit Life. Sciences Branch General Electric R&D Center Schenectady, New York .12301 cc: M. Aven V7D Bellamy JA Mirabal Subject: PCB Found in Rice Near Capacitor Plant Samples of unpolished rice harvested in 1971 in paddies near an electric capacitor factory in Kusatsu (near Kyoto) have been found to be contaminated with PCB. Grains of rice contained up to 1.33 ppm of PCB. . . The Pollution Control Service of the Shiga Prefectural Government made this announcement on April 17 and named Nichicon Capacitor, Ltd. as a suspect. Nichicon has been using PCB in capacitors until last month when it discontinued the use of PCB following a MITI ban. . It is suspected that years of use of PCB by Nichicon has contaminated the area. M.rf. Moore Scientific Representative MJM/tn \ DSW 363175 STLCOPCB4098372