Fed Reg Dev - EPA Revisions to PCB Building Waste Rules
Final EPA guidance aimed at easing requirements under the polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) building waste rule is receiving mixed reactions from industry and other parties who told
the agency that a draft version of the policy should go further in relaxing disposal standards for
building debris with small amounts of PCBs.
EPA in its final version of the guidance posted on its website earlier this month attempts
to further clarify how PCB building debris waste should be classified, reinterpreting Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) requirements governing the disposal of building material
containing coatings with PCBs. The final revisions, outlined in an EPA memo, seek to respond to
criticisms from home builders, manufacturers, state regulators and others that the proposal would
still stall cleanups by subjecting some materials to more stringent disposal standards. The goal
of the EPA revisions to this rulemaking is to accelerate cleanups of PCB building material,
particularly school sites.
The EPA memo further states that the final reinterpretation policy "allows building
material 'coated or serviced' with PCB bulk product waste (e.g., caulk, paint, mastics, and
sealants) at the time of designation for disposal to be managed as a PCB bulk product waste." In
its draft proposed changes released last February, EPA sought to revisit disposal requirements for
PCB building waste after the regulated community raised questions on them. TSCA regulations
require the material to be classified either as PCB bulk product waste or PCB remediation waste.
Under these classifications, PCB bulk product waste can be sent to solid waste landfills, while
PCB remediation waste is subject to stricter disposal requirements, such as disposal in TSCA
chemical waste landfills.
PCB bulk product waste is defined as waste derived from caulk or paint containing PCBs
at 50 parts per million (ppm) or greater, and includes non-liquid bulk debris "from the demolition
of buildings and other man-made structures manufactured, coated, or serviced with PCBs." PCB
remediation waste is defined as waste containing PCBs as a result of a spill, release -- including
leaching -- or unauthorized disposal.
According to pundits, EPA appears to be treating the same material differently depending
on the timing of removal. There may be multiple consequences of an interpretation that goes
only halfway. The reinterpretation may actually cause renovators to delay PCB removals,
thereby increasing the duration of ongoing exposures, due to increased costs. Building
renovation projects that would have removed the high concentration PCB-bearing paints and
caulks now become building demolition projects, requiring the physical removal of all building
materials that were in contact with the PCB-bearing product, such as the doors, windows and
adjoining walls whether or not they [were] scheduled to be replaced. Those who can only afford
to remove the higher levels of PCB-bearing caulk and paint now must institute methods of
recording/identifying areas where the substrate materials are potentially contaminated for special
handling at a later date.
Prior to the final guidance, EPA interpreted these requirements to mean that PCB
remediation waste included building materials in which PCB bulk product -- such as paint,
sealants or caulk -- leached into the substrate of that material. This has meant that building
components such as windows and walls containing PCB-contaminated paint or caulk have been
classified as PCB remediation waste and have therefore been required to meet stricter disposal
standards.
EPA proposed in February to loosen the requirement, but commenters said it did not go
far enough. Under that proposal, EPA would have allowed the substrate to be labelled bulk
product waste as long as it was still attached to the original bulk product waste -- PCB-laden
paint, sealant or caulk. Detached building materials, however, would be labelled remediation
waste, EPA proposed.
But under the final reinterpretation, EPA is further loosening the requirement, allowing
the substrate to be labelled as a bulk product waste as long as the two substances are attached "at
the time of designation for disposal." The label would stay with the building material, and allows
for the possibility that the substrate detaches during the cleanup from the paint or caulk before all
the waste is physically put in the disposal facility, the memo says.
The policy is reported to be limited by the "arcane regulatory setup" of TSCA PCB
cleanup regulations. The revisions may have limited application, applying to renovations, such as
common window replacements in commercial and public buildings, but not to renovations at
brownfields sites, which are typically governed by state voluntary cleanup programs. At
brownfields sites, redevelopers must conduct extensive site sampling and review records for past
spills, the source says. If PCBs are discovered, state agencies, which lack authority to implement
TSCA, refer the matter to EPA regional offices, which require TSCA remediation permits prior
to moving any PCBs.
EPA in the memo emphasizes the expectation that the reinterpretation will speed
cleanups, particularly in schools, where, in some cases, PCBs in caulks and paints and light
fixtures were used from 1950 to 1978. High levels of PCBs caused a stir in 2008 when they were
discovered in New York City schools, which resulted in testing by EPA to find it in caulking
around windows and doors and in the oil inside light ballasts of old fluorescent light fixtures,
according to a factsheet from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice.