Document zznpjY0o0GbZ6M2v8qGZebZvm

w battle CHEEK, MKH. ENQUIRER* HENS D 34.297-S. 40.Q36 nilti l mi f K ul TunPfU IT AN AREA AUG 20 1378 PCB-contaminated roadside to be dug up and isolated RALEIGH, N.C. <AP> - North Carolina will dig up more than 256 miles oi rural roadside contaminated by a chemical containing toxic PCBs at a cost of as much as $2.5 million. The excavation, and a search for a suitable site to permanently deposit the estimated 52.000 tons of tainted grass and soil, were announced by Bov. James Hunt aa the state's latest reac tion to the mysterious ipUl found this month tn 15 eastern and Piedmont North Carolina counties. Hunt, calling the apparently deliberate spill a `'dastardly act," also said county health officials will band- deliver printed notices on the dangers of prolonged exposure to PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, to all residents of contaminated areas. Signs will go up around si1 affected areas warning people to stay off the damaged soil until it la removed. But Hunt also repeated that health officials don't think Uie toxic material, dumped in violation of strict federal regulations on hazardous chemicals, poses an im mediate medical threat. "We do not, of course, know the long term effects of PCBs on humans. That is why we must remove this material to protected and isolated sites, " Hunt Mid. The PCBs has been traced to a type manufactured in the late 1960s by Mon santo Chemical Corp. for use in electric transformers and capacitors. It is no longer produced. Health officials soy PCBs, suspected , as a possible cancer-causing agent when administered to laboratory animals in large doses, build up in human fatty tissues and may cause long-term health problems. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement director Paul J Trains, hare to help in the Investigation into the spill, said power companies are primary users of the substance, but that they commonly have contract! with others for maintenance, hauling and disposal of PCBs. The spills were discovered earlier this month on back roads. Officials have speculated the oily substance may have been dumped by someone seeking to i avoid the cost of complying with new federal regulations. _j HONS 011106