Warehouse workers tested for PCB exposure

The warehouse has been closed and
workers sent home until further notice.

A Walmart returns processing center in Indianapolis is contaminated with a toxic substance, and hundreds of workers at the evacuated facility are now undergoing medical testing to see if they were exposed.

The contamination involves a massive warehouse, where logistics company Exel processes merchandise returned from Walmart retail stores.

The warehouse now sits empty after Exel ordered nearly 600 full-time and contract workers to evacuate the processing center on August 20.

On that day, supervisors met with employees at 3:45pm to announce the facility was shutting down immediately.

During the meeting, employees were not told the reason for the shut-down, only that they would continue to receive their normal pay and benefits and would not return to work until further notice, according to a longtime worker who asked not to be identified.

Five days later, Exel managers again met with employees at a nearby hotel to explain Walmart discovered the presence of a strange substance within the facility.

Testing showed the substance to be PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyl, a synthetic organic chemical compound that is highly toxic and classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as "probable human carcinogens." The EPA says studies in animals provide conclusive evidence that PCBs cause cancer.

Over the past two weeks, Exel employees have been reporting to an east-side medical laboratory for blood tests, which Exel hopes will shed light on which employees were exposed to the PCBs and what impact - if any - the exposure might have on their health.

"It's a situation that continues to evolve, and we're working diligently with Walmart to understand it more," said Exel Vice President of Communications Lynn Anderson.

"We took an overly cautious role and decided we wanted to get out of the building right away. We are really trying to understand the extent of the contamination and the exposure and what it means for the future and the facility."

A Walmart company spokesperson says that Walmart made a joint decision with Exel to close operations "out of an abundance of caution."

"Walmart immediately hired an environmental consulting firm after a contractor servicing a return center we lease discovered the presence of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. Additional testing confirmed PCBs were present in the building, which is operated by a contractor, Exel Inc. We made a joint decision with Exel to close the facility out of an abundance of caution.

"Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have been informed and are investigating this matter. We are cooperating with the investigation, and early indications suggest that the contaminant is in the building materials.

"We have made arrangements for returned products from our stores to be sent to other return centers."

Unusual particles discovered

Anderson says the contamination was discovered by accident, while equipment was being moved inside the plant. That's when workers found an unusual residue and "particles that didn't look right."

Walmart hired a third-party company to test the residue, and according to Exel, the testing revealed the presence of PCBs.

How much PCBs and where did they come from? Exel and its employees are still looking for answers.

Exel plans to begin its own independent testing at the abandoned warehouse this week. In the meantime, it is actively looking for another facility to resume its operations. Exel has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the contaminated facility, but says that is unlikely - at least in the short-term.

Since the evacuation, Exel has hosted two face-to-face meetings with affected employees to provide them with information, and another meeting is scheduled for early October.

At the last meeting, workers were encouraged to take advantage of free blood tests.

PCBs are considered very dangerous to human health, and they are very hard to destroy. Banned in the United States for decades, they were commonly used as coolants and stabilizers in products such as fluorescent light ballasts, transformers, paints, cements, electrical components, pesticides, lubricating oils and sealants.

A known carcinogen, PCBs are linked to other serious health concerns including negative impacts on the immune, reproductive and neurological systems.

Source: 1340 AM WBIW

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EPA Seeks Input for Revisions on Existing Uses of PCBs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking nominations from individuals who represent small businesses, small governments, and small not-for-profit organizations to provide input to a federal panel that will explore changes to existing uses of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This panel will focus on the agency’s development of a proposed rule to revise or end the existing authorized uses of PCBs as appropriate if the conditions under which they were authorized more than 30 years ago have changed. This rulemaking may address existing liquid-filled PCB use authorizations, PCBs in fluorescent light ballasts, PCBs in natural gas pipelines, and regulatory language clarifications.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to establish a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel for rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The SBAR panel will include federal representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and EPA.

Small Entity Representatives (SERs) will be selected by the SBAR Panel to provide comments on behalf of their company, community or organization and advise the panel about the potential impacts of the proposed rule on small entities. EPA is seeking self-nominations directly from the small entities that may be subject to the rule requirements. Other representatives, such as trade associations that exclusively or at least primarily represent potentially regulated small entities, may also serve as SERs.

SERs provide advice and recommendations to the panel. The SERs participate in consultations with the SBAR Panel via telephone, webinar, or in person in one or two meetings and are given an opportunity to submit written comments to the panel.

Chemicals used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment may affect couple's ability to conceive

Couples with high levels of PCBs and similar environmental pollutants take longer to get pregnant than couples with lower levels say researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment are part of a category of chemicals known as persistent organochlorine pollutants and include industrial chemicals and chemical byproducts as well as pesticides.

Some, known as persistent lipophilic organochlorine pollutants, accumulate in fatty tissues. Another type, called perfluorochemicals, are used in clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, heat-resistant non-stick cooking surfaces, and the insulation of electrical wire.

Exposure to these pollutants is known to have a number of effects on human health, but their effects on human fertility-- and the likelihood of couples achieving pregnancy-- have not been extensively studied.

"Our findings suggest that persistent organochlorine pollutants may play a role in pregnancy delay," said the study's first author, Germain Buck Louis, Ph.D., director of the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH.

For each standardized increase in chemical concentration the researchers measured in the test couples, the odds of pregnancy declined by 18 to 21 percent for females exposed to PCB congeners 118, 167, 209, and the perfluorchemical, perfluorooctane sulfonamide. Perfluorooctane sulfonamide is one of a broad class of compounds known as perfluoroalkyls, which have been used in fire fighting foams.

With increasing exposure, the odds for pregnancy declined by 17 to 29 percent for couples in which males were exposed to PCB congeners 138, 156, 157, 167, 170, 172, and 209 and to DDE, produced when the pesticide DDT degrades in the environment. DDT is banned for use in the United States, but is still used in some countries.

The investigators noted that they cannot rule out that some of the delays they observed may have been due to exposure to multiple chemicals. They added that these associations would need to be confirmed by other researchers.

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Massachusetts Town Files Class Action Lawsuit Against PCB Makers

Source: www.sokolovelaw.com

A Massachusetts town has filed a class-action chemical exposure lawsuit against three companies over potential harm caused by high levels of PCBs.


The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of Lexington and other school districts of Massachusetts that have school buildings affected by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) made by Pharmacia Corp., Solutia Inc., and Monsanto Co., according to Boston.com.

The suit alleges that the makers of PCBs were aware of the risks that the chemical posed to public health and the environment when it was being used in the construction of schools spanning almost three decades, starting from the 1950s. The class action seeks to represent Massachusetts schools that were built between the 1950s and the 1970s. Monsanto says that the suit lacks merit.

The manufacturing and use of PCBs was banned by Congress in 1976.

Hospital workers and patients breathing poisoned air

Air quality tests in hospitals have
revealed high levels of contaminants.

Air quality study reveals dangerous levels of PCBs in air at Copenhagen’s main hospital Rigshospitalet

Most people check into a hospital with the hopes of getting better. But what if they are exposed to contaminated air?

Indoor air quality in hospitals has always been a problem – the air is not only polluted by bacteria and viruses, but also by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mold and fungi as well as chemicals such as glutaraldehyde (used for equipment sterilization), diethyl ether (anesthetic gas) and formaldehyde (used to preserve tissue).

And these IAQ concerns are not limited to North American hospitals either.

Recent random air quality checks at the Rigshospitalet hospital in Copenhagen have revealed dangerously high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the air patients and employees breathe.

The petroleum-based compounds, which are colorless and odorless, are known to be carcinogenic, as well as for causing hormone disruptions and neural damage. Studies suggest they may also contribute to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

PCBs were widely used as additives in grouts and joint-fillers in buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s. Over time the volatile chemical additives evaporate into the air, in a process called off-gassing. Air quality checks reveal that is exactly what is happening at Rigshospitalet.

Two of the eight air quality checks conducted at Rigshospitalet exceeded the National Board of Health’s safe limit for PCB concentrations. In one of the measurements, the concentration was 20 percent above the limit. In the other, it was double.

The director of Rigshospitalet, Gunnar Theis Hansen, underscored that although the situation is serious, there is nothing to indicate that any patients or employees have gotten sick from the poisonous air.

“The concentration of the substance combined with the time span in which people stay in the rooms, doesn’t give any cause for anxiety,” Hansen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. However, he added that the hospital is “taking it very seriously. We have a problem and we’re going to do something about it.”

More extensive and systematic air quality measurements are now being done at the hospital to see how widespread the PCB problem is. The new measurements will form the basis for an action plan on how to solve the problem.

Dorthe Steenberg, the vice chairman of the Danish Nurses’ Organisation, was surprised to learn that employees and patients at Rigshospitalet have been breathing in PCB gases for more than 30 years.

“The situation is worrying. But it’s good that Rigshospitalet is itself actively taking measurements and identifying the problem,” Steenberg said.

PCB production was banned in the US in 1979 and by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001.

Source: Copenhagen Post


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Related posts:

• Indoor air concerns in the healthcare industry
• I-6500 Series: Special air cleaners for the healthcare industry
• Researchers develop tools to measure VOCs

Asbestos slows down plans to remove PCBs from schools

Indoor air in schools can be contaminated
with PCBs and asbestos.

In a previous blog posting about PCBS and bad indoor air quality in schools we covered the issue of contaminated light fixtures in schools.

Tests in New York City schools had revealed that old lighting ballasts -- devices that regulate electric current for fluorescent lights -- leaked PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) onto the light fixtures and floors.

PCBs are toxic chemical compounds that have been linked to cancer. EPA issued recommendations in December urging schools across the country to replace all of the old light fixtures as soon as possible.

But it turns out that PCBs are not the only problem. NYC’s Department of Education said in a recent article that the hundreds of thousands of lighting fixtures it plans to replace in the city's schools because they contain PCBs are also contaminated with asbestos.

Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm told a City Council committee hearing that inspectors found asbestos that was used to insulate the problematic fixtures while examining them for signs of leaking PCBs. "Asbestos comes with its own special rules and containment procedures," said Grimm of the cancer-causing material.

"Asbestos comes with its own special rules and containment procedures."
— Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm

She said it can only be removed on weekends and holidays, not evenings "because we have to actually contain the area, and make sure that we're removing it properly and disposing of it properly."

This new problem will slow down the “quick action plan” that was sought to replace the PCB-leaking lighting fixtures. In fact, Grimm said it will take the city up to 10 years to remove and replace all of the lighting fixtures with PCBs from the public schools. Almost 800 schools have contaminated lighting fixtures.

The city has estimated its 10-year plan will cost $850 million. Quinn suggested that contractors might be able to do the job for less money as they make the city's lighting and heating fixtures more energy efficient.

Grimm told council members that companies will be invited to submit their bids after a Request for Proposals is issued in June. But she repeated that the EPA is "underestimating the complexity of performing work of this type in school buildings."

The group New York Communities for Change filed notice that it intends to sue under the federal toxic substances control act if the city doesn't update its PCB removal plans.

The group also wants teachers and other union members to be more involved in the process, said Miranda Massie of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, who's representing the group.

Source: WNYC

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Avoid release of toxic substances during home energy retrofits, renovations, experts urge

Lead-based paint in older homes
constitutes a health risk.

Without adequate training and precaution, renovators, energy retrofitters and do-it-yourselfers who disturb lead-based paint, asbestos insulation and other toxic materials in older buildings put the health of all — especially children — living there at risk of serious health impacts.

Lead exposure can lead to lowered intelligence and worse; asbestos exposure can potentially lead to debilitating long term illness, and certain materials used in renovation can increase other health risks, experts warn in a new report by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA).

“Many families in Canada struggle with high energy costs and retrofits help ease the financial burden while aiding the fight against climate change,” says CELA Executive Director Theresa McClenaghan.
“Retrofits, done right, will also make these families’ homes healthier and prevent health problems known to result from mould or inadequate heating and ventilation. Unless care is taken to avoid the release of toxic chemicals and ensure proper ventilation, however, such renovations can create serious health risks, especially for children.”

Report outlines greatest dangers in home retrofitting

The report, “Healthy Retrofits: The Case for Better Integration of Children’s Environmental Health Protection into Energy Efficiency Programs,” offers recommendations for improvement in several areas, including the coverage and design of government energy efficiency incentive programs and policies, the training of energy auditors, the education of contractors and public awareness of the issues.

The main concerns in home renovations were:

-    Lead. Lead was widely used in lead paints and can make its way into the air during renovation work.
-    Asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen for which, like lead, there is no safe exposure level. Disturbing asbestos-containing materials can release microscopic fibres into the air.
-    PCBs. Buildings constructed or renovated in Canada between 1950 and 1978 may also have Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-contaminated caulk around windows and door frames and in other masonry building materials. PCBs cause cancer in animals.


Choosing healthy building materials
The report notes that sealing and tightening a building to improve energy efficiency can reduce air exchange, resulting in more concentrated levels of indoor pollutants and potential health troubles.

New building materials such as such as caulking, sealants, glues and insulation that contain volatile organic compounds can off-gas or release toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and formaldehyde.

Recent studies have shown that the risk of asthma and respiratory diseases increases in infants or children exposed to formaldehyde or particleboard with formaldehyde-based glues, phthalates or plastic materials and paint fumes.

Polystyrene insulation material also carries potential health risks. It is manufactured by combining two carcinogens, ethylene and benzene, to produce ethylbenzene, which then forms styrene. Polystyrene often contains the flame retardant, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), a long-lasting compound associated with decreased fertility and effects on the thyroid gland.


Seek out information before starting renovations

• The US EPA offers a free handbook, “Renovate Right”
• The Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment has a Safe Renovations Fact Sheet Series that will be augmented with additional educational materials as the Healthy Retrofits project moves forward. For more information, go to www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca

Editor’s note: This release has been edited. Read the full public release.

Source: EurekAlert Science News

Toxic chemicals and bad air quality in schools

Worried about PCBs in schools? You are not alone.

A recent article in the New York Times described parents’ concerns about their children’s exposure to carcinogens in schools.

Tests revealed that old lighting ballasts -- devices that regulate electric current for fluorescent lights -- leaked PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) onto the light fixtures and floors. PCBs are toxic chemical compounds that have been linked to cancer.

The tests indicated that this was a widespread problem, since the aging classroom fixtures still remain in some 800 of 1,200 school buildings in New York City alone. EPA issued recommendations in December urging schools across the country to replace all of the old light fixtures as soon as possible.


Action sought to provide quality air in schools

Parents are urging schools and government to take action and to resolve the issue. Health risks may not be immediate, but they increase with longer exposure. It may be costly to replace the ballasts, but how does it compare to future health-care costs? It has been shown that children are much more affected by pollution than adults.

The use of PCBs has been regulated since the late 1970s, but before that, the chemicals were widely used in electrical products and building materials like caulk. A federal ban came into effect after it was shown that PCBs were linked to cancer, impairment of immune and reproductive functions, and other illnesses, as well as lower I.Q. levels.


Poor indoor air quality a common issue in schools

It’s not only PCBs that can affect children in schools.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, over half of U.S. schools have problems linked to poor IAQ.

With nearly 56 million people, or 20 percent of the U.S. population, spending their days inside elementary and secondary schools, EPA warns that IAQ problems in schools are a significant concern.

EPA lists the most common indoor air pollutants in schools:

• Biological contaminants (mold, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, etc.)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Dust
• Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or Secondhand Smoke
• Lead (Pb)
• Nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2)
• Pesticides
• Radon (Rn)
• Other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as formaldehyde, solvents, and cleaning agents
• HVAC System: the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is not able to control air pollutant levels and/or ensure thermal comfort

Poor IAQ in schools can be costly

Maintaining or restoring good air quality in public and private schools is important for many reasons. According to Health Canada, “Good IAQ contributes to a favorable learning environment for students, productivity for teachers and staff, and a sense of comfort, health, and well-being for all school occupants.”

Conversely, indoor air pollution in schools can be costly over the long term. Besides the health risks, poor air quality can set schools back financially due to the potential for expensive investigation and hasty solutions during a major indoor air problem, higher heating and cooling costs, damage to the building structure and mechanical equipment as well as higher liability.

In the US and Canada, facility managers can turn to helpful checklists, maintenance tips and remediation procedures provided by national institutions such as EPA and Health Canada.

For immediate help with removing airborne pollutants and to keep the air clean, schools can also benefit from free-standing industrial-strength air purifiers with activated carbon and HEPA filters. These can be moved from one room to the next and clean the air quickly and efficiently.

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