Document g7Mywkkj8Bzgvm99D6Zqyd3a

PCB-TRANSFORMER FIRE SPURS UNION PROTESTS, UTILITY ISSUES GUIDELINES An unusual fire involving a transformer filled with flame-retardant polychlorinated biphenyl* (PCBs) hat spurred a union protest and led Toronto Hydro Electric Commission to issue safety guidelines dealing with such equipment. PCBs have been found hazardous to human health and the environment, and production of the insulating fluid is being phased out in the U. S. The fire occured Dec. 9 in an underground vault in downtown Toronto. A Toronto Hydro source said a fault in a protective device on a 1,500 kva transformer apparently burned a hole near the top of the tank, spilling several gallons of the PCBs insulating fluid. As this fluid was exposed to the arc of the fault, it apparently caught fire or was vaporized. The utility source said that most of the fluid was retained in the trans former tank and did not burn. Firefighters and utility workers at the scene were exposed to the vaporized fluid. At a pres* conference Jan. 9, a full month after the fire, an official of the Canadian Union of Public Employes Local 1 charged that Toronto Hydro had never informed its workers of the health hazards of PC8s, though the utility had been aware of such hazards for more than four years. During the press conference another union official said that on Dec. 28 a work crew had been sent to a vault adjoining the one where the fire occured and that men in this crew were also exposed to PCBs contamination.The official said that `'several of our workers later showed symptoms of PCBs poisoning." Two workers at the conference said they suffered skin rashes on the face, lips and hands similar to cold sores, nausea, headaches and eye irritations. AToronto Hydro official said the vault was decontaminated and the men who went into the vault wore protective equipment A union official responded that the protective equipment had never been tested against PCBs and that the PCBs insulating fluid is so fine "that it goes straight through the gear. It soaks it up like a paper towel." AToronto Hydro official said that when the utility learned in 1973 of the hazardous nature of PCBt it had caased buying flame-retardant transformers but had not issued special instructions for dealing with the 43 PC8s-filled units already on its system. This official said last weak that some U. S. utilities have hundreds of such units on their systems and he had never heard of a fire or other accident involving the PCBs-filled units. In its list of safety guidelines, issued at least partially in response to union demands, Toronto recommended that curbs or retainers be built around PCBs transformer* to contain the fluid in case of a spill. The guidelines also suggest the use of protective clothing and other precautions In the handling of the fluid and the cleanup of spills.'Further, the guide lines recommend procedures for fighting fires in which PCBs are involved. Toronto Hydro is making the guidelines available to customers who have PCBs-filled transformers on their premises. Reprinted from January 30, 1978 Issue of Electrical Week. Copyright 1978 -- McGraw-Hill, Incorporated. HONS 000132