Document v6mxKqNQ3avrnQ4r12rkZJRER

10/12/79 FYI: D. Wood F. Provorny R. Isham J. Ortiz FROM: G. Young cc: D. R. Bishop G. D. Ingenthron J. P. Orr * WIPIHVHEOW Sat, Od. 6.197? ___3 Drums of Toxic PCB Found On Farm Near Lafayette ByJIMKIRKSEY aren't distributed for human consump Heaver Pott Staff Writer tion. Severe! 35-gallon drums of e toxic, po tentially dangerous chemical have been discovered on a farm near Lafayette. A1 Hade, director-of the state Health HE ADDED THAT as soon as it is practical, the chemical must be put In new barrels and transported to a suitable site in Idaho for disposal. Department's Division of Radiation and Hazardous Wastes, said Friday that 17 large drums containing PCB (Poly-chlori nated Bl-phenols) were found late Thurs A Health Department spokesman said the samples will be analyzed over the weekend. day about a mile west of Lafayette. This past summer, PCB contamination Hr said the drums were in a deterio originating in animal feed from a Mon rated condition and possibly had been tana packing plant caused the destruc leaking, but there was no indication of tion of hundreds of thousands of laying widespread contamination in the area. hens, millions of eggs, thousands of bak ANN WISLOCKI, a Health Depart ery Hems and tons of processed chicken ment chemist, described PCB as an or- meat la Western qlates. ganic chemical used primarily as an in dustrial coolant in electrical transform ers. It can be ingested or absorbed through the skin, she said. PCB can cause cancer or mutations, she explained, and can be responsible for congenital defects if exposure is great She said the substance generally is stored in human and animal body fat The tenant on the leaned farm near La fayette, Wayne Darling, caDed the drums to the attention of the Boulder County Health Department which then notified the Heads Up Toxics Program of the En vironmental Protection Agency, he laid. The county and state health depart ments were working with the EPA on the discovery. The EPA has taken soil samples to determine the extant if any, of leakage of the toxic chemical, Hazie said. Sam ples of water, milk, other food and ani mal tissue from the Immediate area were being collected by the county health au thorities to be analyzed in the slate Health Department laboratories. Investigators from the EPA were on the scene and had secured the srea, he Jim McShane, coordinator of the state Health Department's emergency re sponse efforts, said the Immediate tasks are providing security for the material and making sure that food and other agri cultural products from the secured area HONS 011003