What are PCBs? The manufacturing of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was stopped in the U.S. in 1977 because of evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects. Before 1977, PCBs were used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment because they do not burn easily and are good insulators. Common household products manufactured before 1977 that may contain PCBs include fluorescent lighting fixtures and electrical devices and appliances, such as televisions and refrigerators.
PCBs are a mixture of up to 209 individual chemicals, combined to form oily liquids or solids that are colorless to light yellow, have no known smell or taste, and can exist as a vapor in the air. They do not break down readily and thus remain in the environment for long periods of time, traveling long distances in the air and sticking to organic particles and bottom sediments in water, as well as binding strongly to soil.
When manufacturing was stopped in the United States, the damage had already been done; PCBs had entered the air, water, and soil during their manufacturing, use, and disposal, from accidental spills and leaks during their transport, and from leaks or fires in products containing PCBs. Also, they were released into the environment from hazardous waste sites, illegal or improper disposal of industrial wastes and consumer products, such as the Ward Transformer Site in Raleigh, NC (scroll down for more information on the Ward Transformer Site), leaks from old electrical transformers, and burning of some wastes in incinerators. How does this affect living organisms? One of the biggest detriments of PCBs has been to our water sources, where small organisms and fish are exposed through contact and ingestion. As PCBs accumulate in fish and other marine animals, levels of PCBs reach up to 1000 times higher than in the water. When other animals, including humans, consume these aquatic organisms, they will also be consuming traces of PCBs.
Warning Fish Advisory in Lake Crabtree & Brier Creek AVISO DE PESCADO
Location: Crabtree Creek, Wake County, just below Lake Crabtree to where it enters the Neuse River Pollutant: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Advisory: High levels of PCBs have been found in carp, catfish, and largemouth bass from these waters. Limit consumption of these fish from Crabtree Creek to no more than one meal per month. Date Issued: 3/31/06 ________________________________________ Location: Brier Creek, Wake County (downstream of Brier Creek Reservoir), Lake Crabtree, Wake County Pollutant: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Advisories: Brier Creek - High levels of PCBs have been found in the fish. Do not eat any fish from Brier Creek. Lake Crabtree - Do not eat carp or catfish from Lake Crabtree. Limit consumption of all other fish from Lake Crabtree to no more than one meal per month. When in doubt about the fish species, do not eat any of the fish. Date Issued: 5/7/04 ________________________________________ Location: Little Brier Creek, Wake County (downstream of Brier Creek Parkway), tributaries to Little Brier Creek, and Brier Creek Reservoir Pollutant: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Advisory: High levels of PCBs have been found in the fish. Do not eat any fish from Little Brier Creek (downstream of Brier Creek Parkway), its tributaries, and Brier Creek Reservoir. Date Issued: 12/8/03
The Ward Transformer Site & PCBs
Located near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Mount Herman Road, the Ward Transformer Site encompasses an active transformer reconditioning facility constructed in 1964. Transformers are electrical devices that transfer energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling, and Ward was responsible for building, repairing, and storing them. However, during their operation of the site numerous companies, including Progress Energy, arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances, transformers, switchgear, and other types of electrical equipment containing hazardous substances onto the site.
Along with the disposal of hazardous substances from other companies, Ward's method of handling PCB-laced oil from transformers was beginning to raise questions. Eventually, as a result of Ward TransformerÂ’s involvement in the release of used oil containing PCBs along roadsides in North Carolina, the EPA and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) began an investigation of the site in 1978. They found PCB contamination in the soil at the Ward Transformer site, in the water and sediment of the storm water lagoon, and in the water and sediments along the surface water pathway draining the facility. On April 30, 2003, the Ward Transformer Site was officially added to the The National Priorities List (NPL), a list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program.
However, contamination is more widespread than initially suspected-100,000 tons of PCB contaminated soil is in need of treatment, as well as countless gallons of water that has been polluted downstream from the Site and contaminated fish in Lake Crabtree, Crabtree Creek, Brier Creek and Brier Creek Reservoir. In the fall of 2005, the estimated cost of cleanup for the site itself was $5.2 million. This estimate, which did not include the cost of water cleanup, was expected to increase.
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
