NCD980602163_19810930_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_SunOhio letter to Dr. Donald Hisingh-OCR

1700 Gateway Blvd . SE.
Con ton. Ohio 44 707
(21 6) 452-0837
FIELD SERVICES
FOi~ ELECTRIC
POWER SYSTEMS
Transformer Fluid
Testing and
Reclomot1on
Pcsx·
Substation
Repairs and
Maintenance
Switchgear
Testing and
Calibration
Transformer
Electrical Testing
Transformer
lnstal!ation and
Vacuum Filling
Preventive
Maintenance
Programs
September 30, 1981
Dr. Donald Huisingh
Toxic Substances Project Leader
State of North Carolina
Office of the Governor
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
Dear Dr. Huisingh:
Thank you for your letter of inquiry concerning our PCBX process
for destroying PCBs. I will try to make clear for y,ou the
capabilities and limitations of our system~
We can destroy any PCB contained in mineral oil and purify the
oil for reuse, transformer oil for instance. We can destroy pure
PCB, although we are not concentrating our attention on this work
until we see how various inci neration programs work out and are
accepted. At present, we are devoting our efforts to cl eaning
up contam inated transformer oil.
We go directly to the location of the contam ination with our
equipment, and no transportati on of PCBs is necessary. The oil
is returned to like-new condition, and the by-prod ucts are harml ess
materials.
Region IV is one of those which has granted us approval, and we
are currently working at Oa k Ridge, Tenness ee. At present, we
have only one of these mobile sys tems , but several more are in
manufacture, and two of these are just about ready to go.
We have no capability to destroy PCB t hat has already escaped
into the environment. Our system is a compl etely closed and seal ed
one, and any PCB that can be pumped into it we can destroy. Our
contribution to this environmental problem will be to help prevent
fut ure incidents like the one that occurred in yo ur state.
Of course, our technique is proprietary in nature, and we do not
wish t o make all the technical details available to the public.
However, I am enclosing some general information on our process.
Without doubt, we will soon be in position to attac k this en vironmental probl em in North Carolina and in any other location.
It is now a matter of getting eno ugh equipment on the road.
'--------A P/\RTNERSIIIP OF SUN COMl'ANY AND OHIO fRANSrOflMl:R CORl'ORAIION SUBSIDIARIES ---
. PC BX 1, o Servrce r,1ork of Sunohio
....
1'EPA
United State~
Environmental Protection
Agency
Press Office (A-107)
Washington DC 20460
Environme ta
News
FOR RELEASE AFTER 11 A.M. EDT
TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1981 Acly [phone]
EPA APPROVES NEW The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
TECHNIQUE TO
DESTROY PCBs approved the use of a new chemical process that can des t roy
R-60
toxic Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) safely.
EPA said the new process is "a significant step forwa rd " in
the national effort to dispose of the approximately 750
million pounds of PCBs now in service or storage in the
U.S.
Mounted on a vehicle trailer, the mobile chemical treatment
system--called "PCBX"--removes the toxic PCBs from oil used
in electrical transformers. Tests have shown that the
process produces no probl~m wastes , and the cle aned oil can
be reused after the PCBs are removed .
The PCBX process was developed by Sunohio, of Ca nton, Oh i o.
The firm is a partnership jointly owned by subsidi-
aries of Sun Company and Ohio Transformer Corpora tion.
"The presence of PCBs in the environment is pote ntia lly o ne
of the most serious public health issues we face," s a id
Edwin H. Clark, EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator f o r
Pesticides and Toxic Substances. "The new PCBX p r oces s
exemplifies an approach to public health protection that
holds the real key to our effectiveness in the future. I
am referring to the absolute necessity that new technology
be developed by the private sector that will g ive us the
tools we need to deal with the increasingly complex
environmental proble ms we confront."
PCBs a re a family of substances that are chemically sta ble
and have good insulating properties. They have been used
in a wide range of applicat ions since 1929, primarily in
electrical transformers and capacitors.
(more)
R-60
-2-
The production of PCBs was banned in 1977 due to widespread
concern over their serious health and environmental effects.
However, millions of pounds of PCBs have already entered the
environment, and EPA is concerned that the hundreds of
millions of pounds that are still in service be destroyed
safely to prevent further problems.
The stability of PCBs causes them to persist in the
environment for long periods. Animal tests have shown them
to cause a variety of health problems, ranging from skin
eruptions to liver damage and tumors.
PCBX is the first chemical process to be approved by EPA to
destroy PCBs. Previously, transformer mineral oils
containing the chemicals at levels below 500 parts per
million could only be destroyed by using thermal methods,
such as high-tempe rature incinerators and industrial boilers,
or in one of the few landfills that has been specifically
approved for PCB dis posal.
"The PCBX disposal system has a number of unique and
interesting features," said Clark. "It does not produce any
PCB emissions to air or d~scharges to water . It is also
portable, being mounted on a vehicle trailer. This means
that PCBs can be treated where they are found, thereby
avoiding any of the pote ntial risks associated with extra
handling or transportation of the contaminated oils."
Approval of the new process was granted by EPA's Region IV
based in Atlanta. The Agency's ten Regional Administrators
have the authority to approve PCB disposal facilities and
processes for use within their Regions. EPA's other Regional
offices are now evaluating the PCBX process, arid are expected
to approve it in the near future.
At the present time, the terms of EPA's a pproval allow four
companies to use the PCBX process under carefully controlled
conditions to destroy PCBs in mineral oil contained in
transformers located in their facilities, leaving a safe,
chemically inert residue. The limited approval is intended
by EPA to be an interim measu re while the terms of a more
comprehensive approval are formulated.
The four companies that now can arrange to use the PCBX
process are the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Departme nt of
Energy's Oak Ridge Atomic Energy Facility in Tennessee, the
Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and The
Southern Company, a private firm that is the parent company
of a number of electric utilities in Alabama, Georgia and
Mississippi.
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