Document daE2dprg9D8Vwb4nXJv9YaqG9

MAR 2 81 -- 2 potentially deadly toxins found in tower rfc nun Ihlw PMIelie. Urtiwkw. >A may take year By STEVE GKIMANN However, several officials said the state Is wrapped up and ether work win cease while Two highly (one ehemkalt wen dtsoosered now faced with an even mare difficult public the state reassesses the currentwork. la the hunted seat and ash of Binghamton's Stale Office Building yesterday, triggering a year-long cleanup which may cost millioni, sources said last night. - The new chemicals-- dlberunfuraa and <#- relstlees task to convince employees the build'. Sources said officials believe the total lag wll be safe after the cleaning is completed. . champ of oU sections of the building may in Informed that two new chemicals were peesant. Dr. Arnold J. Schecter. Bnome County clude gutting Iho interior end destroying ill furnitiBe, although a final docUwi on the exact procedure hoe not been made. beniodkaun -- in constdered extreasaiy talk by experts, end is significant dsses can causa death, a haakh official said. Sources la Albasy and Binghamton told The must he tahea to ensure contaminated materi al renuine in the office tower and does not es cape into the community. Cleanup coordinators working In wash the top layer of soot yesterday experimented with several sotvents -- including Lyaoi. Leatoil, Seavrash end e mixture of mineral oil end aico- Stas-BuiMo last night that the desaup cousid- "These are extremely toxic chemical com hd -- te detarmiae which cWaned best. Those - ered a mataire task two weeks ago now will be pounds and the most potent kind," Schecter sotvenU may nil be used to dean the addi even mere Manse, lengthy and costly. . said. "We have to bo much more earefuL" tional chemicals, officials said. . The Office of General Services, which earns the buildbif and is in charge oi the cleanup, will hold a news conlronce at noon today to discuss the "immediate and long-tarn" ac tions needed toclean. State Health Commissioner Dr. David Axet- Schecter said mors.vigilance will be re quired as the deaiupwort progroeeo. Scientific reports show that dibenaofuran end (Ubeneodiexhi are frequent by-products when PCBs react with electricity arcing tcrou malfunctioning drcuki. red met with the Office o( General Semces last night and diacusaedUit new information. John F. Iludacs, the deputy commissioner monitorim the cleanup,declined to discuss the future woih when contacted at his heme last night. .. Sources stressed that based on the tests, Fire and electrical experts believe the tire that bee kept the building locked since Feb. 5 was triggered by an electrical'malfunction in Hit main circuit hoard. The 11-story office tower is polluted by soot and ash with 10 percent polychlorinated biphe allure was no health danger la people is nearby NiMingt since the cleanup has been handled as atone chemical spill. . nyls I PCBs) covering every surface, inducting concealed sections bnind Islse ceilings. An official said the work now bebta done to remove the top loyor of soot end osn will he The new chemicals were uncovered in the moat reseat set of taste completed by the stats health department. Tho exact amount! at the ' chemicals could not beobtained last night. A separate set of tests showed the PCB contaminatiM level (hupped tram an average Id micregrams per square meter on work surfse es before washing end cleaning to about llmicragrams per square meter afterthe washing. Air in the tower contains l.u micregrams of - PCRa per cubic meter -- just above the Nation -el Institute of Occupational Safety and Health recommendatiea of one microgram per cubic meter and below the federal Occupational Health aid Safety Administration reputation of im mtcorgrero per cubic meter. Officials have said they plan lo meet the N10SH guildine before the building is declared sate for An unprecedented detaup has been carried out for the pot 22 days as the state works to return lbs building to normal, o process that has ceet about MOO.tOO--not including salariee for state employees reassigned to Binghamton for the work. - The discovery of the two additional chemi cals could mean all the "hidden spaces" will he cleaned, a process that could take months, ccerdtag loofficials on the econo. Schecter said ho woe also concerned that some cieancn who entered the building were not property shielded, and be coiled (ore thor ough review of the process. A series of teste conducted by General Elec tric Co. just altar the mishap showed tisces of the twe new chemicals, although state officials decided not to act entU their own tests were completed. The new discovery will mean the displaced workers will Had permanent homes la other buildings in downtown Bmghamtoo. or at sev eral slate-owned buildings at the Psyehiatrie Centerof the Developmental Center. o Wl <0