PCB : Detoxification of building materials in DK Presentation for EURITS d. 14 May 2012

1. PCB: Detoxification of building materials in DK Presentation for EURITS d. 14 May 2012 Lars Gunnarsen Danish Building Research Institute, Aalborg University

2. Polychlorinatedbiphenyl

3. PCB fundamentals Sum 7 congeners: 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 og 180 2 dioxin-like congeners: 77, 81, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 156, 157, 167, 169, og 189 All PCB congeners akkumulate in human bodies 105 og 118 has WHO TEF på 0,0001 and for 156 it is 5 times bigger Highest TEF has nr. 126 with TEF equal 0,1 Vapor pressure of PCB 118 at 25 C is 8.974 × 10–6 mmHg = 0.001196 Pa = 1.18 × 10-8 atm. In air at 1,013 × 105 Pa (1 atm) this is equal to 12 ppb or 160 µg/m3 Occupational TLV is 0 µg/m3 The national Board of Health reccomends action limits set at 3 and 0,3 µg/m3 for indoor air

4. Construction products Indoor air SurfaceDust Soil

5. Building area Erection Year

6. 1950 to 1976 where PCB containing sealant were on the marked 143 mill. m2 new buildings have been erected which is 37 % of the total building stock of 389 mill. m2. Someinofficialguestimates

7. Temperature dependency of vapor pressure EKSP(34,92 - 11,624*1000/(t + 273)) Equation valid 40-55 oC

9. PCB exposure from indoor air and health risks in relation to recommendations from National Board of Health Recommendations are based on occupancy of buildings 24-7 for several years.

11. Homepage of the project SBi.dk/pcb (in Danish)

12. Projekt planning

13. Recent measurements 24 congeners included in the analysis: PCB-28, 52, 66, 74, 77, 81, 99, 101, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 138, 153, 156, 157, 167, 169, 170, 180, 183, 187 og189. (Dioxin-like in red) Blood samples furthermore included congener number 69, 178, 182 og 190.

14. Sample summary • Results from: • 83 air samples (Birkhøj) • 20 sealant samples (Birkhøj) • 21 air samples (uncontaminated parts of FarumMidtpunkt) • Approx. 200 blood samples 100 from contaminated and 100 from PCB free appartments

15. Sealant samples were taken by knife for single use after removal of temporary sealing with aluminum tape and wodden panels.

16. Air samples were taken by adsorption on XAD-2 and a total sampling volume during approx. 24 hours of approx. 2.7 m3.

17. Results, air Birkhøj (n=83), PCBtot • Average: 1030 ng/m3 • Interval: 168-3843 ng/m3 • 80 appa. > 300 ng/m3 ; 8 appa. > 2000 ng/m3 ; 1 appa. >3000 ng/m3 Øvrige (n=21), • PCB > LOQ in 52% • Average = 6.0 ng/m3 ; interval <LOQ – 254 ng/m3 • OBS! one appartment with high PCB-level. The occupant had lived 31 years in contaminated part and indoor air contamination from household contents suspoected.

18. Resultats, sealants • Average ∑24PCB: 100 817 mg/kg (187 – 221 667 mg/kg) • Average PCBtot: 252 150 mg/kg (436 – 718 430 mg/kg)

19. Air vs. selants • Good correlation for low-chlorinated (even intercorrelation) • No correlation between air and sealants for highly-chlorinated

20. Sum of 24 measured congeners in indoor air (ng/m3)

21. Sum of 12 non-dioxinlike congeners in indoor air (ng/m3)

22. Sum of 12 dioxinlikecongeners in indoor air (ng/m3)

25. PCB content in selants in contaminated part

26. PCB in indoor air in contaminated part

27. Questionnaire results

28. Cleaning does help

29. Conclusions There still is PCB in some buildings – maybe in approximately 10% of the buildings from the relevant period Old sealants with PCB, will still be a significant source of PCB in indoor air, surface dust and the soil around the buildings. In rare cases this may lead to health risks for the building occupants PCB in dwellings leads to a significantly increased PCB contamination of building occupants. For these people the dwelling causes by far the most PCB intake Better ability to identify buildings with PCB is recommended More efficient means of renovation of PCB contaminated buildings are recommended More rigorous waste hanling recommended More reseach, innovation and consistency recommended