NCD980602163_19830114_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Air Sampling at the Warren County Landfill-OCR

January 14, 1983
AIR SAMPLING AT THE WARREN COUNTY LANDFILL ~-
What Are The Air Sampling Results?
Two sets of air samples taken during the last ten days at the Warren County
landfill have turned up only minute amountsof PCB in one of the landfill's venting
pipes, and in a pipe leading from the leachate collection system. State Health
Director Dr. Ronald H. Levine and other environmental and public health experts
said the PCB poses no threat to public health or to the environment.
Two venting pipes and the leachate collection system at the landfill were
sampled on Thursday, January 6 , by DHR personnel to determine if gas passing
through the pipes contained PCB. The landfill contains several venting pipes which
release methane gas produced by the decomposition of grass and other biodegradable
materials. No PCB was detected in one venting pipe, and extremely small amounts were
detected
/in the main venting pipe and a pipe leading from the leachate collection sy stem.
Gas in the main venting pipe in the middle of the landfill contained 15.2
micrograms per cubic meter (about 3 parts per billion) of PCB. Gas in the leachate
collection pipe contained about 1.3 micrograms per cubic meter (less than one part
per billion) of PCB. The OSHA standard for PCB in the workplace is 500 micrograms
per cubic meter.
Additional ambient air samples, and one venting pipe sample, were taken on
Wednesday, January 12. None of the five samples of air around the landfill contained
levels of PCB that were detectable on the state's sampling equipment. The venting
pipe sample, from the same main venting pipe, registered 10 micrograms per cubic
meter (about 2 parts per billion).
What Do The Results Mean?
Samples taken inside the main venting pipe of the landfill, and a leachate
collection pipe, contain extremely small, but detectable levels of PCB. The levels
are well below the OSHA standard, and pose no threat to human health or to the
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environment. No PCB was detected in any of the air outside the pipes that might
be breathed by anyone working at the landfill, or living nearby.
Nevertheless, to further ensure that the PCB in the pipes will cause no
health problems for the people of Warren County, DHR's Division of Health Services
has asked the EPA to conduct an independent air sampling survey at the landfill,
using the most advanced air sampling equipment available.
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