PCBs in Building Materials

1. PCBs in Building Materials Presented to: Prepared By: Jeffrey Sotek, PE, CSP, CIH Jeff.sotek@hrpassociates.com HRP Associates, Inc. Creating the Right Solutions Together Newport, Rhode Island June 12, 2012

2. PCB History • PCBs synthesized 1929 • They have a range of toxicity and vary in consistency from thin, light-colored liquids to yellow or black waxy solids • Found to cause cancer in lab rodents in 1970’s • Massive occupational exposures (1930’s & 40’s) • Their manufacture was banned in 1979 • Although no longer commercially produced in the United States, PCBs may be present in products and materials produced before the 1979 PCB ban.

3. Historical PCB Uses • Other products that may contain PCBs include: • Cable insulation • Thermal insulation material including fiberglass, felt, foam, and cork • Caulk • Adhesives and tapes • Oil-based paint • Plastics • Carbonless copy paper • Floor finishes

4. The Issues • The use of PCBs in non-liquid manufactured building products at >/= 50 ppm is prohibited under TSCA. • Manufactured products containing PCBs have been found in many buildings and structures • Caulk typically contains PCBs at very high levels - % (One lab report a high of 28%) • The PCBs in the caulk migrate to a limited extent to surrounding materials (air, soil, masonry). • Typical renovation procedures can increase exposures to workers and building residents, including children.

5. PCB Concentrations in Indoor Air • Lederle Graduate Research Center, U-Mass Amherst – 220 to 640 ng/m3 (2006) • Estabrook School, Lexington, MA – 300 to 1,800 ng/m3 (July 2010) • Burke School, Peabody, MA - 260 to 740 ng/m3 (October 2011) • Public buildings in Germany - 720 to 4,200 ng/m3 (Kohler et al. 2002)

6. Regulations • Removal/disposal of PCB caulking or other PCB bulk product waste, and subsequent consideration of remaining PCB remediation waste, typically performed under: • 40 CFR §761.62 – PCB bulk product waste • 40 CFR §761.61(a) or (c) – PCB remediation waste

7. Removal • No use authorization for PCBs in non-liquid manufactured products ≥50 ppm; they must be removed when identified. (40 CFR § 761.62) • Caulk removal • Strip out • Paint removal • Abrasives • Chemicals • Hydroblast • Ranges from $20 to $400 per foot of caulk removed

8. Adjacent Surfaces PCB Remediation Waste • Grind/cut out areas of contamination beyond “source material” • Encapsulate porous surfaces • Clean non-porous • A substrate material contaminated from a >50 ppm PCB source (such as caulk), containing >1 ppm PCBs, is a PCB Remediation Waste. PCB Remediation waste can be disposed as a non-TSCA waste at a facility but the disposal facility may have additional sampling requirements.

9. Adjacent Surfaces PCB Remediation Waste • PCB Remediation Waste («50 ppm) may be left in place if properly encapsulated. However, this will require an O&M Plan, on-going inspections and air monitoring, and may be a deed restriction. • Notice of sale, lease, or transfer of property may need to be conveyed to EPA prior to transaction

10. New EPA Activities • April 2010 ANPRM PCB Uses • Specifically, USEPA is reassessing its TSCA PCB use and distribution in commerce regulations to address the following: • The use, distribution in commerce, marking and storage for reuse of liquid PCBs in electric and non-electric equipment. • The use of the 50 ppm level for excluded PCB products. • The use of non-liquid PCBs. • The use and distribution in commerce of PCBs in porous surfaces. • Marking of PCB articles in use • Followup • Separation into two rule-makings • PCBs in caulk postponed for second rule-making “so that we can continue to research remediation techniques.” Letter to NYCOSH (07/08/10). • NPR is scheduled for April 2013.

11. New EPA Activities • The EPA is inviting the public to provide comments on a proposed reinterpretation of its position regarding PCB bulk product and PCB remediation waste under regulations promulgated at 40 CFR part 761. (February 29, 2012) • The proposed reinterpretation would modify this guidance to specify that only PCB-contaminated building material from which the PCB bulk product has been removed from the substrate is a PCB remediation waste. (The distinction lies in whether or not the PCB bulk product is still attached to the building materials)

12. New EPA Activities • Request for Public Comment, 77 Fed. Reg. 12293 (02/29/12). • Would allow building material “coated or serviced” with PCB bulk product waste (e.g., caulk, paint) at the time of disposal to be managed as a PCB bulk product waste, even if the PCBs have migrated from the overlying bulk product waste into the substrate, provided there is no other source of PCB contamination on or in the substrate. • If the substrate is not “coated or serviced” (i.e., the PCB bulk product waste, such as caulk or paint has been removed from the building material) at the time of disposal and the substrate is contaminated with PCBs that have migrated from the bulk product waste (or from another unauthorized disposal), the substrate would be considered a PCB remediation waste.

13. Uncertainties • PCB in Building Materials illegal, but: • No stated duty to test. • No stated duty to report. • No stated duty to remove or mitigate. • Since illegal, current regulations provide no framework for in-place management of PCBs in building materials. • EPA enforcement varies from region to region.

14. Potential Risks • Enforcement? • Illegal disposal, future liabilities? • Contractual violations? • Occupant injury concerns or claims? • OSHA violations? • Unseen business environmental risks? • Impaired property values? • Risks sometimes lead to self-reporting and remediation?

15. Thank You Jeffrey R. Sotek, PE, CSP, CIH Regional Manager HRPAssociates, Inc. Tel: 508-407-0009 E: jeff.sotek@hrpassociates.com