August 20, 2010
Comments regarding Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Polychlorinated Biphenyls
(PCBs); Reassessment of Use Authorizations.
Docket # EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0757
The EPA requests information on the possible authorization of the use of some non-liquid PCBcontaining products in Unit XIV.Z of the federal register notice.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is concerned about the continued exposure of
people and wildlife to PCBs. Decades after their use was limited under TSCA, we spend a lot of
resources on PCBs, because they are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT). Through our
state program on PBTs we have been working to reduce the uses of PBTs for the past ten
years1,2. When we put PBTs out into the world, they persist and the problem often becomes
enormous. It’s simply a bad idea to authorize additional uses of a PBT, such as the use of caulk,
paint, or other non-liquid PCB product at concentrations exceeding the current regulatory level
of 50 ppm.
Over the past few years, caulk in buildings from 1950-1979 has become recognized as an
important source of PCBs; something noted in the EPA’s own materials on PCBs. We are
concerned about exposure to PCBs while the buildings are in use, during maintenance work, and
in demolition debris. Researchers throughout the US have reported finding PCBs in sealants and
building materials3,4,5. Other jurisdictions have estimated significant exposure from past uses of
PCBs in caulk6,7. Washington State does not have a comprehensive survey of where all the PCBs
in caulk or other non-liquid products are, but we have cases where it has been found. For
example, earlier this week PCBs were found in the King County Youth Services Center
courthouse in Seattle8. The PCBs spread from window caulking to carpets inside and soil
outside. Employees and court cases are being moved to new locations, at a currently unknown
expense.
In our ongoing Puget Sound Toxics Loading Study we found that significant amounts of PCBs
continue to flow into Puget Sound. The main driver of PCB concentrations in water, sediment
and biota in Puget Sound is runoff. Reduced loading of solids from nonpoint sources could lead
to significant reduction of PCB loading9. We do not have an estimate for which sources of PCBs
are contributing the most to the loading, but it makes sense to reduce all sources where possible
and not authorize new sources.
There are 483 PCB cleanup sites across the state of Washington and we spend millions in private
and taxpayer dollars each year on PCB clean up. One example of a small site that we recently
completed cleaning up in eastern Washington cost $1.3 million in state dollars and $300,000 from the
site owner. Another site cleanup that took many years cost approximately $30 million for the owner.
Below is a map of all the current PCB cleanup sites in Washington.
PCB Cleanup Sites in Washington State
The existing PCBs generate a lot of hazardous waste, so every effort should be made to reduce
PCB containing waste. In 2009, over 5 million pounds of PCB contaminated waste was reported
to Ecology, under our state law on PCB waste from electrical equipment that contains PCBs
between 2 ppm and 50 ppm. Waste with more than 50 ppm PCBs is regulated by the EPA under
TSCA. Additional, PCB-containing wastes are also likely entering the solid waste stream every
year, unmanaged and unreported.
In summary, the Washington State Department of Ecology does not recommend that the EPA
authorize the use of caulk, paint, or other non-liquid PCB product at concentrations exceeding
the level of 50 ppm currently provided in the PCB regulations for excluded PCB products. PCBs
are PBTs, and as such deserve our greatest attention to protect human health and the
environment. In the case of PBTs, we already know enough that we should make every effort to
phase out current uses and prevent new uses.
1
Gallagher, M., 2000. Proposed Strategy to Continually Reduce Persistent Bioaccumulative
Toxics (PBTs) in Washington State. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia,
WA. Publication No. 00-03-054. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0003054.html
2
WAC 173-333-110. Rule on Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics, 2006.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/wac173333.html
3
Herrick, R., M. McClean, J. Meeker, L. Baxter, and G. Weymouth, 2004. An unrecognized
source of PCB contamination in schools and other buildings. Environmental Health
Perspectives 112: 1051-1053.
4
Lefkowitz, D., 2005. PCB Caulk and Soil Sampling Reports. www.pcbinschools.org. Accessed
July 8, 2010.
5
Sykes, R. and A. Coate, 1995. PCBs in sealants in water distribution reservoirs. Journal of the
American Water Works Association April: 96-100.
6
Kohler, M., Tremp J, M. Zennegg, Seiler C., Minder-Kohler S., Beck M., Lienemann P.,
Wegmann L., and Schmid P., 2005. Joint Sealants: An Overlooked Diffuse Source of
Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Buildings. Environ. Sci. and Technol. 39(7), pp. 19671973.
7
Robson, M., L. Melymuk, S. Csiszar, A. Giang, M. Diamond, and P. Helm, 2010. Continuing
sources of PCBs: The significance of building sealants. Environment International 36:
506-513.
8
PCB Contamination Found in King County Youth Services Center Courthouse. Seattle Times.
Aug. 19, 2010.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012668774_pcbs20m.html?syndicatio
n=rss
9
Pelletier, G. and T. Mohamedali, 2009. Control of Toxic Chemicals in Puget Sound: Phase2,
Development of simple numerical models: The long-term fate and bioaccumulation of
polychlorinated biphenyls in Puget Sound. Washington State Department of Ecology,
Olympia, WA. Publication No. 09-03-015. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0903015.html