Document dqGExD43oyeV57QXg150d2xe

Page 1 32 of 46 DOCUMENTS Industry Week August 24, 1987 Correction Appended Despite risk, PCB dumping persists; But stiff new laws target dumpers and transformer owners BYLINE: By JOANI NELSON-HORCHLER SECTION: TRENDS & ANALYSIS; Environment; Pg. 17 LENGTH: 1302 words Few people know the potentially crippling consequences of illegally disposing of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as intimately as Robert Ward III, president of Ward Transformer Co., or the residents in the rural communities near his company's main plant in Raleigh, N.C. For seven long years, Ward Transformer was the defendant in one of the most extensive and blatant cases of illegal toxic dumping ever to confront the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Instead of concentrating on the business that he took over from his father in 1979, 37-year-old Bob Ward has spent most of his career in court. In 1978, after being paid $ 76,000 by Ward Transformer to properly dispose of the wastes, three midnight dumpers unloaded 31,000 gallons of waste oil contaminated with high levels of PCBs along some 200 miles of rural roadsides in North Carolina. Those actions triggered over six years of litigation under EPA strict liability law -- and criminal convictions. Since the dumpers were unable to pay for the cleanup, Ward Transformer, which manufactures, repairs, and distributes a wide variety of oil-filled and dry-type transformers, was forced to. DUMPING CONTINUES. Today, many other U.S. businesses and communities still suffer from the devastation wrought by dumpers of PCBs, which have been linked to reproductive, gastric, and nervous-system disorders. Fifteen months ago, for example, at least 13 million pounds of of the toxic liquid were dumped right in the middle of the little town of Holden, Mo. It was only last month -- after intensive efforts by federal, state, and local officials - that removal of the PCBs finally began, at a cost that could total $ 50 million. What's more, since Rose Chemical Co., the PCB handling and disposal firm that operated the Holden facility, is bankrupt and can't clean up its closed facility, the companies who originally generated the hazardous waste -- and who already have paid for its disposal -- will now be required to pay for its disposal again, under "strict liability" laws. Many PCB generators are being made to pay the price for past improper or illegal disposal. With several Justice Dept. claims against it and four other manufacturing firms in the area still pending, AVX Corp. this spring was forced to pay $ 2 million for damages caused by the release of PCBs in New Bedford Harbor, Mass. Damaged areas included 18,000 acres of fishing and lobstering waters and beaches. TARGETING OWNERS. Fiascoes like these are spurring bipartisan Congressional action to close current loop holes in PCB disposal regulations. A Congressional subcommittee chaired by Rep. Mike Synar (D, Okla.) recently in vestigated several other instances in which PCB materials were mishandled, improperly disposed of, or simply unac counted for. On July 30, Rep. Synar introduced a bill that requires: * Uniform manifests to track PCB materials from the cradle to the grave. * PCB brokers -- the middlemen in disposal operations -- to have EPA permits. * All PCB disposers and brokers to maintain adequate insurance to cover accidents and cleanup costs when facilities are closed. Industry managements, meanwhile, face another headache: maintaining or disposing of the approximately 110,000 PCB-laden transformers still in use. Frequently found in or near plants, office buildings, shopping malls, and residential areas, they have become virtual ticking time bombs, and thus one of industry's biggest liability concerns. Despite a ban on PCB production effected in 1978, more than 750 million lb of PCBs remain in transformers and in about 3 million capacitors and other products. And despite already stiff regulatory requirements, major incidents of transformer fires, PCB contamination in food-processing plants, and leaching of the toxic chemical into water supplies still occur, arousing the ire of affected communities and EPA. FORGET LANDFILLS. Until recently, the most widely used disposal method was replacing existing transformers and then putting them into landfills. But it's becoming increasingly clear that this is not a permanent solution. A Na tional Resources Defense Council report concludes that the practice should be eliminated since the buried chemicals will inevitably migrate into ground water at some future time. In fact, much of the $ 300 million plus that EPA had collected by the end of 1985 from "responsible parties" to leaking landfills has been paid by PCB transformer owners who thought they were solving their problems by burying them. They may have been unaware that a transformer can still contain as many as 100 lb of PCBs deep within its in ternal components -- even after it has been drained and flushed. One way to avoid both short-term and long-term liability is to remove and destroy PCBs from existing transformers ("reclassify," in EPA parlance) rather than replace them. Before 1984 the technology to achieve non-PCB status (less than 50 ppm) wasn't commercially available. Now, however, it is. One method of PCB "reclassfication" has been developed by Unison Transformer Services Inc., Charlotte, N.C., a Union Carbide Corp. subsidiary. Unison's Henderson, Ky., transformer-fluid-recovery center won EPA's praise last Au gust. The agency's assessment of the center cited several benefits of reclassification: Avoidance of long-term landfill li abilities; risk reduction -- since PCBs are removed from operating transformers; less disruption of service due to shorter downtime; and dollar savings of 30% to 40% compared with what it costs to replace a transformer. CAN'T BEAT 'EM. After years of fighting "tooth and nail" for his company in court, Mr. Ward offers crisp advice to those saddled with PCB problems: "Just do everything they (federal and state authorities) say. You can't beat 'em." A worse-case legal settlement of $ 12 million could have wiped out Ward Transformer, Mr. Ward says. Fortu nately, there was a happier ending. The company was able to settle in 1985 for $ 3.5 million, an amount he says "we could afford to pay, and continue on, and that's what we did." Regulations governing PCBs Effective date Regulation or rule Current EPA's basic regulatory approach holds that any exposure to PCB - even one molecule -- creates an unreasonable risk to human health. A transformer leak is thus defined as the existence of any PCBs on the external surface of a transformer. Current A PCB-filled unit can't be put in a landfill as it is; it must first be drained, rinsed with solvent, and the fluid incinerated. If a unit has between 50 ppm and 500 ppm of PCBs, it can be disposed of in an approved landfill after the remaining fluid has been flushed. Current No transformer use is allowed if it poses a risk of exposure to feed or food. Current All PCB transformers must be registered with fire-response personnel. Page 3 Regulations governing PCBs Effective date Regulation or rule Current EPA's basic regulatory approach holds that any exposure to PCB - Current All PCB transformers in or near commercial buildings must be registered with the building owner. Current Combustible materials must not be stored within a PCB transformer enclosure or within 5 meters. Current A visual inspection for leeaks must be performed at least every three months. Current If a leak is found with a risk of PCBs running off, then the transformer must be repaired. Any contaminated materials must be cleaned up within 48 hours. Current If a PCB transformer is involved in a fire-related incident, it must be reported to the National Response Center. Current Records of inspection and maintenance must be kept for at least three years after disposal of the transformer. Current A reduced inspection frequency of every 12 months is available if other specific conditions are met. LANGUAGE: ENGLISH CORRECTION-DATE: September 7, 1987 CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, the Aug. 24 issue of IW omitted the fact that Robert Ward II, former presid ent of Ward Transformer Co., Raleigh, N.C., was convicted in 1981 of knowingly and willfully conspiring to illegally dispose of PCB chemicals in 1978. Mr. Ward was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and fined $ 200,000. GRAPHIC: Picture 1, Rebuilt transformers like this one no longer contain PCBs -- but they're not the ones causing problems.; Picture 2, Taking every precaution is critical in PCB disposal. Companies that take shortcuts risk disaster. Copyright 1987 Penton/IPC