Toxic solvents underneath IBM building defy cleanup

Buildings on contaminated soil may
expose workers to harmful chemicals
through soil vapor intrusion: Experts.

ENDICOTT – After 35 years, IBM Corp. contractors have stanched the flow of industrial solvents into a commercial and residential district in the heart of the village, but they have yet to find a solution for the source of the problem at the company's former flagship manufacturing plant.

Officials recently reported that efforts to intercept and remove the subterranean flow of hazardous chemicals coming from the industrial complex — now owned by Huron Real Estate Associates — have been successful.

Consequently, health risks to a nearby neighborhood have been eliminated.

Yet they have no remedy for a concentrated pool of solvents directly under the manufacturing site, where at least 1,500 people still work.

It may take years before a proven remedy is found, according to Alex Czuhanich, an engineering geologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, although the agency has no timetable for the project.

The pollution, discovered in 1979, includes trichloroethylene (TCE) and other solvents used as industrial degreasers that have been linked to maladies ranging from cancer to birth defects.

IBM used vast quantities of the solvents to manufacture printed circuit boards during the company's heyday from the 1950s through the 1970s.

The contaminated hot spot — known as "the source area" on DEC records — lies under an area the size of eight village blocks, and it was once bustling with the delivery, handling, storage, transport and liberal use of solvents.

The source area encompasses a railroad corridor where chemicals arrived in bulk, loading docks where they were handled, and a network of tanks and pipelines that stored and transported virgin chemicals and chemical waste to and from various manufacturing lines throughout the campus, according to DEC records.

Situated over and near the source area, and blocking access to cleanup, are dozens of buildings, most of them massive, bunker-like, cement structures built during the Cold War era and some well before.

The contaminated ground is dense with tunnels, boiler rooms, tank rooms, crawl spaces, cables, pipes and conduits.

"There is just so much infrastructure there," Czuhanich said. "Trying to get anything in there (to remedy the problem) is difficult, at best."

To date, nearly 70,000 gallons of solvent — more than 40 tons — have been pumped from the ground. Officials don't know how much is left, according to DEC spokesman Peter Constantakes.

Court records filed by attorneys representing residents suing IBM for damages from the pollution put the solvent pool up to 1 million gallons "that had apparently collected over many years from leaking pipes and tanks."

Reluctance by IBM and the DEC to publicly discuss the source area has added to uncertainty about its status. IBM spokesman Todd Martin did not reply to phone calls or written inquires on the subject.

Safety debated

IBM sold the plant in 2002 to Huron Real Estate Associates, which now rents space to BAE Systems Electronics, i3 Electronics (formerly Endicott Interconnect), Binghamton University and other smaller firms that collectively employ between 1,500 and 2,000 workers.

TCE, the main contaminant under the campus, is not commonly used in bulk by industry in the U.S. anymore, though it is a pervasive contaminant at many Cold War-era industrial and military sites throughout the country.

In addition to the former IBM site, notorious TCE legacy sites in the Southern Tier include the CAE Electronics site in Hillcrest, and the Morse Industrial site in Tompkins County, both linked to contamination of nearby residential neighborhoods.

The TCE problem is as stubborn as it is complex. TCE is one of a class of chemicals that tend to be heavier than water, so they sink through the water table and adhere stubbornly to soil particles.

They also give off toxic fumes that rise from the ground, ending up in basements, crawl spaces and — ultimately — circulating into living spaces through a process known as vapor intrusion.

There is no national standard to limit TCE exposure in air, although there has been a political push to develop one since the federal Environmental Protection Agency determined in 2011 that the chemical was a carcinogen and a "non-cancer health hazard."

Just how much exposure presents a risk remains a controversial topic. Levels that might not affect one person could make another seriously ill. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable.

According to the latest EPA assessment — challenged by the chemical industry — risks for non-cancer illnesses, such as birth defects, from short-term TCE exposure in residential settings are found to increase statistically at levels at or above 2 micrograms per cubic meter.

The agency has set the threshold for risks from short-term exposure in an industrial setting at 7, based on the assumption that people spend less time at work than in their homes.

Cancer risks become discernible for chronic exposure — the type people might experience in homes — at levels beginning at 0.43 micrograms, according to an EPA assessment.

New York state has set a broad guideline of 5 for residential and commercial exposure. But the agency often requires action at levels below the threshold when feasible.

Feasibility remains the issue at the Huron campus. Indoor air samples at 42 buildings collected in 2005 — the last time the state oversaw testing — ranged from zero to 17 micrograms per cubic meter in some areas that tended to be occupied. Levels were much higher in other areas — often registering between 50 and 300 micrograms in tunnels and tank rooms below Building 18, for example.

Concentrations in the soil directly below the buildings often exceeded 10,000 and sometimes were over 100,000 micrograms.

In 2005, the state health department determined that the TCE levels at the Huron campus present a "low" health risk to people working there, according to a report at the time. That means state health officials "do not expect to be able to associate health effects" from exposure.

Health department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said the guideline remains "under review" as more information comes to light "to ensure that previous decisions and recommendations continue to protect public health."

In 2005, a health department study found elevated rates of testicular and kidney cancers, and birth defects that were "statistically significant" in an area affected by solvent pollution in the area south of the former IBM plant, and several blocks to the southwest of the plant polluted by an undetermined source. (The area has since been cleaned by the IBM remediation efforts.)

The results of a study by NIOSH and the health department evaluating birth outcomes of women who worked at the plant is expected to be released later this year.

By the numbers
• 35: Number of years IBM has been cleaning the pollution.
• 70,000: Number of gallons of concentrated chemicals removed so far.
• 1,500: Approximate number of employees who work at the site.
• 470: Number of structures off-site that have been fitted with vent systems to divert toxic fumes.
• 5: Safety threshold, in micrograms per cubic meter, for TCE exposure in air in New York state.
• 2: Level, in micrograms per cubic meter, at which risks associated with short-term TCE exposure increase statistically.

Source: PressConnects; This article has been edited for length.

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IBM to settle toxic spill suit

Company and plaintiffs announce a settlement over TCE releases from the former plant

The settlement ends a six-year saga.

IBM Corp. will settle a lawsuit brought by 1,000 plaintiffs who alleged that toxic spills from the company's former Endicott manufacturing plant caused illnesses and deaths, damaged property values and hurt businesses.

Both sides announced the settlement without revealing details of the agreement.

"IBM and the plaintiffs' counsel have reached this agreement in an effort to resolve these cases without further burdensome and expensive litigation," said the joint statement from the litigants.

The settlement brings to a close a more-than six-year saga in which IBM and those who claim they were harmed by the toxic releases waged a fierce legal battle on monetary rewards.

Affected residents, in a multi-million-dollar liability lawsuit against IBM, claimed the company should pay for the damage caused to residents around what once was the company's main domestic manufacturing facility.

From 1935 to the mid-1980s, IBM used TCE (trichloroethylene) to clean metal parts in degreasers at its industrial campus in the Village of Endicott. In 1979, the company discovered some of the TCE had pooled in groundwater beneath the facility and appeared to be migrating.

Soil vapor intrusion

Contamination from soil vapor intrusion was detected by the late 1990s, and by 2002, IBM began testing the air at the request of state health and environmental agencies. Basement ventilation systems were eventually installed in more than 400 homes.

Settlement negotiations between the parties began last July, when state Supreme Court Justice Ferrous D. Lebous requested that representatives of both sides start meeting about an out-of-court settlement. Negotiations were apparently successful, culminating with Tuesday night's release that the parties agreed to a settlement that satisfied both sides.

Lawyers of those who brought the suit against IBM said they will conduct meetings with clients over the coming weeks to present terms of the settlement.

IBM representatives said the company will continue the environmental cleanup that has been ongoing since the widening toxic plume was discovered.

Pumps spread throughout Endicott pull pollution from the ground through structures called recovery wells.

Over time, these wells have grown in number from four to more than 22, and to date, they have recovered more than 815,000 pounds of trichloroethylene and other toxic chemicals, with an unknown amount remaining beneath the village.

Company officials have never publicly explained IBM's role in the disaster, and their legal position was that the company always handled chemicals responsibly and in accordance with standards of the day.

They have not denied their former operations were a primary contributor to the pollution. They have not admitted it, either, nor have they offered a detailed explanation of the source of the problem.

Cleaning up industrial solvents

Representatives of the company said it was cleaning up the solvents from multiple industries that have operated in the region's industrial corridor for generations. Endicott was also home to the vast shoe manufacturing empire of Endicott Johnson Corp., once the region's largest employer.

However, the toxic-liability suit named only IBM as the source of the chemicals that tainted parts of Endicott's commercial district and nearby residences.

IBM sold the 140-acre campus to Huron Real Estate Associates in 2002. Current tenants include i3 Electronics (formerly Endicott Interconnect), BAE Systems and Binghamton University, among others.

Lawyers for IBM have long contended it was following the responsible path, picking up the sizable costs for cleaning the spill and providing venting systems for properties designated at-risk for vapor intrusion.

Both sides scored initial victories as the case wound its way through the courts. Lower courts ruled against IBM's motion to have the case dismissed, and ruled in favor of a plaintiff's motion to have charges of negligence — the underpinnings of the case — tried before a jury.

But lower court rulings also eliminated or limited some aspects of the litigation, including the charge that the pollution constitutes a trespass in all cases, and the claim that IBM should be held accountable for monitoring the medical condition of all plaintiffs, including non-property owners.

IBM was also able to limit claims for medical monitoring to only people claiming other damages, such as illness or property loss. That eliminated claims for a potentially large group of plaintiffs — renters and children, for example — who may have been exposed but did not develop illnesses or suffer property damage.

Source: PressConnects

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Boston area shop owners opt for carcinogen-free business

The dry-cleaning chemical perc has
been linked to cancer and health issues.

When Myra Vargas and her husband took over a dry-cleaning business in Jamaica Plain last spring, they had to make a tough decision: whether to use a common chemical called perchloroethylene, known as perc, or institute a costly change.

Vargas knew that perc, which they’d been using to clean clothes at their Roslindale shop for nearly two decades, was dangerous.

Years earlier, she’d been warned to stay away from it while pregnant. But she’d recently learned that perc probably causes cancer in dry-cleaning workers.

“We went seventeen years using something that was dangerous for everybody,” she says.

Extra encouragement to make the change to a safe system known as wet cleaning came from a group called Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition, but it wouldn’t be easy.

The couple would need to buy all new machinery and pay to get rid of their old, perc-based equipment. And making the switch would cost more than $100,000, a daunting hurdle. Plus, they’d heard conflicting stories about whether wet cleaning worked as well. But then the project helped them get a $15,000 state grant and launch a Kickstarter campaign that raised another $18,000.

On September 11, J&P Dry Cleaners celebrated its grand opening as the neighborhood’s only wet cleaner and one of only about a dozen in the state.

The shop’s opening was the first success in an ambitious effort to rid Jamaica Plain businesses of chemicals likely or suspected to cause cancer.

Across the nation, Main Street businesses routinely use such chemicals: at beauty and nail salons, hair straighteners and polishes that may release formaldehyde, for instance; at auto shops, brake cleaners that can include perc and solvents with trichloroethylene.

By persuading companies to switch to safer alternatives, the JP project aims to create locally what its leaders are calling “a cancer-free economy.”

Although nationally cancer rates are declining slightly, an estimated 1.7 million Americans will be diagnosed with the disease this year and more than half a million will die of it.

But most of us don’t need stats to tell us there’s a lot of cancer around — everyone seems to know someone.

“Not enough effort, not enough research, not enough funds have been directed toward upstream efforts to prevent carcinogens from getting into the human environment in the first place,” says Richard Clapp, an epidemiologist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, which is partnering on the Jamaica Plain project.

 “How do we get to the point where we don’t pour this fire hydrant of carcinogenic chemicals into the environment?”

To be sure, exposure to chemicals doesn’t cause all (or even most) cancers. The American Cancer Society attributes 30 percent of US cancers to cigarette smoking and 35 percent to poor diet, inactivity, and obesity.

Other factors, such as genetics and infections, also contribute. But any given cancer case is now understood to have more than one cause, Clapp argues, so the idea of dishing out blame to one factor is flawed.

The JP project, which received a $20,000 grant from UMass Lowell’s Toxics Use Reduction Institute last year and was recently awarded another, is gearing up to approach other neighborhood businesses like auto shops and beauty salons.

And it’s trying to persuade local hospitals, hotels, and senior living facilities to use Vargas’s shop for dry cleaning.

In addition to reducing carcinogens, the project aims to support minority- and immigrant-owned small businesses in JP’s gentrifying economy — communities all too often left out of environmental and health discussions.

The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production is taking an even wider-angle look at creating cancer-free economies.

In partnership with two national groups, it secured foundation support — around $1 million for each of the next three years — to build a network of organizations that will strategize how best to wean the national economy off cancer-causing chemicals, then fund a series of initiatives to help do just that.

Whether the JP project or even the national one can credibly reduce our economic dependence on carcinogens remains to be seen. But we need more of this kind of bold, creative thinking.

And if we want businesses, especially small ones, to change their ways, they are going to need help.

Fortunately, Massachusetts has other like-minded initiatives, including Boston’s Green & Clean small-business certification program and the Toxics Use Reduction Institute’s statewide assistance program.

Without the JP project’s help, Vargas says she would never have given up perc.

But she’s thrilled with the decision: There’s no chemical smell in the shop, wash loads take half the time and less energy, and the whites come out whiter. Her utility bills have dropped, and there are no more fees for disposing of perc.

“At the end, it’s worth it, because now we see the results,” she says. “People like it. It’s better.”

Vargas is planning to send other neighborhood business owners to the group and is helping spread its message of a carcinogen-free Jamaica Plain.

“It’s a big problem and a hard process . . . for them to convince people,” she says. “But I’m hoping they do it.”

Source: Boston Globe

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TCE to be regulated by EPA, unless industries take action

TCE is often used in degreasing
operations and dry cleaning.

The Environmental Protection Agency will regulate uses of trichloroethylene that pose health risks to workers or consumers unless companies voluntarily stop using the solvent or find ways to reduce exposures, according to a senior agency official.

“Voluntary efforts are frequently quicker and more cost-effective than regulations,” Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, director of EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), said during a recent workshop. “But where we can't do it through voluntary efforts, we will pursue regulations.”

In the U.S., most trichloroethylene is used in refrigerant manufacturing, which poses minimal exposure risks and isn't an application the EPA is focusing on.

The EPA is concerned about worker exposure in commercial degreasing operations and dry cleaning, as well as consumer exposure through various products that contain TCE.

The EPA held a workshop July 29-30 to discuss alternatives to trichloroethylene use as a degreaser. Participants also discussed ways to reduce exposures if the solvent must be used. In future forums, the agency will address TCE alternatives for dry cleaners.

Companies make about 250 million pounds of trichloroethylene in the U.S. or import it into this country annually, said Tala Henry, director of OPPT's Risk Assessment Division. The vast majority, 83.6 percent (209 million pounds), is used to make refrigerants in well-controlled and contained workplace environments, Henry said.

The EPA estimates 14.7 percent (36.75 million pounds) of the remaining trichloroethylene is used as a commercial degreasing solvent, and 1.7 percent (4.25 million pounds) has consumer applications such as automotive degreasing products, home office toner aids, home mirror edge sealant and arts and crafts fixatives or cleaners, Henry said.

Risk assessment identified health concerns

OPPT organized the workshop as its initial response to its analysis of risks TCE poses when used in degreasing, dry cleaning and some arts and crafts applications.

Thousands of workers in small commercial degreasing shops and dry cleaning facilities face an increased risk of contracting cancer and giving birth to children with cardiac or other health problems, OPPT concluded.

Employees who don't work with TCE directly, but work near where it is used, also faced increased health risks, the assessment said.

The offspring of pregnant consumers who inhale brief high concentrations of TCE-containing arts and crafts sprays or other materials may also face risks, the assessment found, although many companies have stopped using TCE in consumer goods, according to information presented at the workshop.

Trichloroethylene is found at more than half of the nation's superfund sites, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which focuses on human health risks of hazardous waste sites.

TCE also is a volatile organic compound and hazardous air pollutant, said Margaret Sheppard, an environmental scientist with EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

Alternatives for degreasers

Alternative ways of degreasing equipment include water-based cleaners that may contain small amounts of surfactants, rust inhibitors and other compounds; acetone; a coating that could be peeled off to remove contaminants; and frozen crystals of carbon dioxide called “snow.”

Source: Bloomberg News
This article has been edited for length.

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EPA warns of TCE exposure

Agency releases final risk assessment on Trichloroethylene (TCE), begins process to address potential human health risks

Many dry cleaners and other small
businesses use toxic chemicals daily.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final risk assessment for trichloroethylene (TCE). The assessment identified health risks from TCE exposures to consumers using spray aerosol degreasers and spray fixatives. 

It also identifies health risks to workers when TCE is used as a degreaser in small commercial shops and as a stain removing agent in dry cleaning.

“EPA calls on Congress to enact legislation that strengthens our current federal toxics law,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention.

“Until that time, we are using the best available science to assess and address chemical risks of TCE that now show that it may harm human health and the environment.”

The final TCE risk assessment was developed as part of the agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified chemicals for review and assessment of potential risks to people’s health and the environment.

EPA developed the draft TCE risk assessment based on the best available information and finalized the assessment after careful consideration of comments from the public and experts during an independent, scientific peer review of the assessment.

TCE is the first chemical to complete the work plan risk assessment process under TSCA.

EPA is conducting a workshop from July 29-30, on potential TCE degreaser alternatives and risk reduction approaches.

EPA will also conduct other activities to address TCE uses as a stain removing agent in dry cleaning and as a clear protective spray fixative.

In the meantime, EPA recommends that people take precautions that can reduce exposures, such as using the product outside or in an extremely well-ventilated area and wearing protective equipment to reduce exposure.

For more information on the TCE risk assessment, the July 29-30 public workshop, and TSCA workplan chemicals, click here.


Source: EPA

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Smartphone factory workers exposed to dangerous chemicals

The number of victims of toxic chemical exposures keeps
rising, advocacy groups say.

Dangerous chemicals are killing workers in factories that assemble processor chips for Apple and Samsung smartphones, advocacy groups claim.

Worker representatives, advocacy groups and academics are demanding manufacturers lift their standards to eradicate the dangerous conditions causing occupational leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

With more than 100 victims and counting, they claim companies have so far turned a blind eye, and said that Samsung is actively subverting the victims' pursuit of compensation and justice.

The problem originates in 'clean rooms', dust-free environments where semi-conductors, used in electronics such as smartphones and LCD TVs, are produced.


Only armed with 'white bunny-suits' designed to minimise contamination, workers frequently handle and inhale chemical cocktails whose purpose is to sterilise materials, including wafers.

These chemicals include benzene, a carcinogen, and trichloroethylene, which are known to cause occupational leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

As the air is rapidly re-circulated, these enclosures incubate the cancer.

Toiling for prolonged periods every day, workers have contracted the disease just a few years after they started working at Samsung. Some died soon after.

In 2012, university researchers investigated 17 Koreans workers at Samsung's Giheung semiconductor plant who had contracted the cancers. They recommended all workers should immediately be protected from the potential exposures to chemicals.

However, they said more research was required to prove a formal link with cancer and semiconductor production, because Samsung hadn't granted access to the working conditions.

Samsung victims seek compensation

Korean-based worker rights group Supporters for the Health and Rights of People in the Semiconductor Industry (SHARPS) is assisting more than 50 Samsung workers trying to claim workers' compensation from the government.

The first case was filed in 2007 and their ongoing efforts have achieved mixed results.

The government's workers' compensation fund initially refused to pay the victims, or their families, said SHARPS spokeswoman Dr Jeong-ok Yoo Kong. These decisions were subsequently overturned by the courts.

Now the government – with Samsung's help – is appealing to the country's High Court.

"Samsung has been joining the lawsuit to support the government as a 'name of reference' for the defendant," Dr Kong told Fairfax Media.

The victims want the government to pay compensation in order to set a precedent for all Samsung workers.

"They just want to open the door," she said.

The case will next be heard on May 15.

According to Korean reports, Justice Party representative Sim Sang-jung plans to introduce a bill into the South Korean parliament forcing Samsung to apologise and compensate the victims.

Kim Jun-shik, an executive vice-president of Samsung Electronics, last week told reporters in South Korea that the company is reviewing the proposals "in a sincere manner", and will make an official response soon. The company maintains a web page with information on benzene. It says it does not use benzene in its fabrication processes, but that researchers have found traces of it in its factories.

The United Nations International Labour Organisation has found serious chemical-related incidents happen in workplaces, and said there needs to be a global response by governments, employers, and workers to address the issue.

Global problem

The problems aren't limited to Korea's Samsung.

In China, 52 workers diagnosed with occupational leukaemia signed a declaration to ban benzene. Many of these worked at factories in Hubei where semiconductors are fabricated for the iPhone.

Apple has previously said it leads the industry in removing toxins from its products, and requires suppliers to meet, or exceed, American safety standards.

Ms White said occupational cancer is seriously under-diagnosed and subsequently under-reported by the government. It gives global brands a false sense of security and prevents workers from accessing the medical compensation they are owed.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald. This article has been edited for length.

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Residents sue General Mills over TCE soil pollution

Soil vapor intrusion fears for Minneapolis homeowners

Two class-action lawsuits were filed against General Mills by residents in the Como neighborhood of southeast Minneapolis, where state-ordered testing has shown troubling concentrations of the pollutant TCE in soil below their homes.

Updated results have been published as of Friday morning for 58 of roughly 200 homes in the target area, southwest of a former General Mills facility where solvents containing TCE (trichloroethylene) were dumped decades ago and filtered into soil and groundwater. Thirty-seven have turned up with higher-than-acceptable levels of the chemical.

Testing has been completed at another 16 properties, but results haven’t been released, and has been arranged but not completed at another 65 properties, according to a map published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), which is overseeing the cleanup project.

TCE exposure has been linked to
cancer and other health concerns.

Three property owners refused testing.

Prolonged exposure to high TCE levels has been linked to elevated risks of cancer and other health problems.

A contractor funded by General Mills is installing ventilation systems — commonly used to remove radon from homes — in the problem properties to prevent the harmful buildup of TCE.

Since the public disclosure of TCE contamination in soil gas in the neighborhood last month, only half of the property owners have scheduled testing of the soil gas below their basements.

The high number of rental homes in the area — many occupied by University of Minnesota students — has added to the challenge of securing testing agreements from the property owners.

However, three attorneys from Minneapolis and Chicago jointly sued in U.S. District Court on behalf of two residents of the Como neighborhood, Karl Ebert and Carol Krauze. And a Minneapolis firm filed a similar suit in Hennepin County District Court on behalf of resident Jill Ruzicka.

Both cases seek class-action status to represent all residents affected by TCE contamination below their homes.

Both were filed ahead of a high-profile community meeting arranged Saturday by Integrated Resource Management, a California firm tied to pollution crusader Erin Brockovich that investigates industrial contamination.

A General Mills representative could not be reached in time for publication.

Source: Star Tribune

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California plans to add TCE to toxic chemicals list

Exposure to TCE can lead to reproductive problems.

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has announced plans to add trichloroethylene to the list of reproductive toxicants maintained under Proposition 65.

In a Nov. 27 notice of intent, the agency proposed listing the volatile organic compound based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency findings that trichloroethylene (CAS No. 79-01-06) caused male reproductive toxicity and developmental toxicity in laboratory animals.

Under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Proposition 65, the state must maintain a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive toxicity.

Businesses must provide clear warnings whenever the public is exposed to an unsafe level of a listed substance.

TCE is used as an industrial solvent and is found in several consumer products, including paint removers and adhesives.

TCE - Trichloroethylene
- In the vapor degreasing of metal parts.
- An extraction solvent for greases, oils, fats, waxes, and tars, a chemical intermediate in the
   production of other chemicals, and as a refrigerant.
- In consumer products such as typewriter correction fluids, paint removers/strippers,
   adhesives, spot removers, and rug-cleaning fluids
Source: EPA

In 1988, California added the chemical to the Proposition 65 list of carcinogens.

Findings in the EPA's 2011 Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) document and the Toxicological Review of TCE in support of the IRIS entry meet the criteria for listing the chemical as a reproductive toxicant under the Proposition 65 authoritative bodies mechanism, the OEHHA said.

The authoritative bodies mechanism is an administrative process that requires the OEHHA to add substances to the Proposition 65 list once the EPA or another official body formally identifies a chemical as causing reproductive harm, birth defects or cancer.

Along with the notice of intent, the agency posted its response to comments from the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance Inc. and another group questioning whether TCE was eligible for listing via the administrative process.

Source: Bloomberg

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TCE soil vapor intrusion fears in Como

Soil vapor intrusion allows contaminants
to enter homes and businesses.

Minnesota health and pollution officials are holding community forums to discuss efforts to discuss efforts to handle TCE, a degreasing solvent that may be invading homes in the Como area of southeast Minneapolis.

TCE, which stands for trichloroethylene, had been dumped from 1947 to 1962 in a pit behind a now-defunct General Mills plant.

The state is asking some 200 property owners near Van Cleve Park to allow testing in their basements to determine whether TCE vapors in the soil below their foundations are finding a way into their homes.

Prolonged, substantial exposure to TCE has been linked to certain cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as well as birth defects.

While there is no evidence that cancer or other health problems are more prevalent in the neighborhood, state officials said they are acting out of caution as science has revealed more about the way TCE can evaporate from groundwater and rise through soils.

The neighborhood’s TCE problem has been known since the early 1980s, when the old General Mills property at 2010 E. Hennepin Av. was declared a federal Superfund cleanup site.

General Mills agreed to pay for the pumping and treatment of groundwater to remove traces of the chemical.

Groundwater treatment continued until 2010, when the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency declared it was safe to halt the cleanup — but monitoring since that time found TCE in the soil gas below the surface.

Forty tests were conducted on the soil under sidewalks and streets in a wide section of the Como neighborhood near the old General Mills site. Thirteen sites showed TCE rates above residential air safety standards, allowing health officials to pinpoint a 16-block area trailing southwest from the plant to Van Cleve.


Tests and remedies

General Mills has agreed to arrange and pay for testing for TCE, at a cost of about $1,000 per property, as well as the $2,000-per-property cost of fixing homes or businesses if TCE is found. In most cases, the solution will be a ventilation system similar to the ones used in homes to remove radon.

The company previously paid to remove contaminated soil from the site of its former food and chemical research plant, which has since been sold and redeveloped into small-business offices.

To assess any potential health problems, the Health Department has reviewed data from its registries of all birth defects and cancer cases in the state. The 55414 ZIP code, which includes the Como neighborhood, does not have a higher rate of birth defects.

A review of the cancer database is ongoing.


Editor's note: This article has been edited.

Source: Star Tribune

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Many homes and businesses may suffer from soil vapor intrusion, which can expose residents and workers to contaminated air.

Electrocorp has designed a variety of industrial-strength air cleaners with many pounds of activated carbon and HEPA to remove such contaminants as TCE and varius other chemicals, gases, odors, fumes, particles and more.

Electrocorp works with environmental consultants and government experts to provide cleaner and healthier air where it's needed.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and a consultation.

Toxic cleanup: When no one feels responsible

Vapor intrusion is a serious health
hazard, experts warn.

The U.S. Army, activists and regulators seem unable to agree on who should clean up a TCE plume underneath Orion Park just outside Moffett Field.

The site contains a former housing complex where contaminants have been found in the groundwater as well as in the indoor air of the homes.

The Army says it’s not responsible for the cleanup based on their own site investigation, which found no on-site source of the toxins. They say it must be someone else’s responsibility.

However, the EPA and other experts are not convinced by the report and demand a cleanup by the Army. Even the Department of Defense has ordered the Army to take action on Orion Park’s environmental condition.

What is TCE and how does it affect people’s health?

TCE stands for Trichloroethylene, a carcinogenic solvent that was used by the nearby defense department and computer industry operations, which leaked into the ground.

In underground plumes, TCE becomes an enormous health hazard when fumes enter buildings or homes through a process called vapor intrusion, taking advantage of tiny cracks and fissures in the foundation.

Inside homes, it can build up to dangerous levels.

According to the EPA, TCE is carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure and it can cause a wide range of health effects, including neurological, immunological, reproductive and developmental effects.

Off-site and on-site sources of pollution possible

There is acknowledgment that part of Orion Park’s toxics came from nearby plumes that were being cleaned up by the Navy and tech companies, but the EPA says the Army’s claim of no on-site sources was not substantiated.

Meanwhile, the area in question now houses a new Army reserve and command post with buildings that have vapor barriers and ventilation systems installed to help prevent soldiers’ exposure to TCE vapors.

In the long run, it is cheaper to clean up the toxic rather than to maintain vapor intrusion barriers and special ventilation systems in buildings.

The negotiations between parties are ongoing.

Source: Mountain View Voice

Provide healthy indoor air with air cleaners

Activated carbon is one of the most effective and affordable filtration media when it comes to TCE, or trichloroethylene.

Activated carbon can remove gaseous
contaminants such as TCE vapors.

With a carbon efficiency rating of 4 for TCE (the highest rating meaning a high capacity for adsorption of the vapors), an air cleaner with many pounds of activated carbon can help remove TVE vapors in indoor environments.

Electrocorp works with environmental consultants and experts to supply portable and powerful air cleaners with activated carbon and HEPA technologies for commercial and industrial applications.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and options.

Vapor intrusion a concern at toxic spill sites

Vapor intrusion can happen in any home.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned last week that 10 homes in the Phoenix area of a polluted toxic spill site had concerning levels of chemicals indoors.

The original source of the pollution is a former Motorola plant that accidentally leaked chemicals (including trichloroethylene, or TCE) from industrial solvents into the ground in the 1980s.

TCE is a known carcinogen and scientists say it could be harmful even at relatively low concentrations.

The EPA and others are monitoring the levels of chemicals in the area, but last year, they measured for the first time the ambient air inside nearby homes to check for vapor intrusion.

Vapor intrusion is what happens when chemicals and gases from contaminated groundwater and land enter homes through cracks and fissures in the foundation or building. Once inside the home, they can build up and become an even bigger health hazard.

The homes that measured concerning levels of TCE will be equipped with special machines, which circulate outdoor air inside the home and prevent vapor intrusion by utilizing pressure.

Source: Arizona Republic

Clean the air with portable air cleaners

An industrial-strength air cleaner with many pounds of activated carbon and HEPA as well as other filters can help keep the ambient air clean and prevent a buildup of toxic substances.

Activated carbon is one of the safest and most trusted filter media for the removal of airborne chemicals, gases, fumes and odors (including VOCs such as formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, trichloroethylene and more).

With other filters like HEPA and UV, the air cleaners also remove airborne particles, dust, bacteria, viruses and mold.

Electrocorp offers air cleaners for environmental consultants (to be used in single and double-family homes at certain Superfund sites) as well as air cleaners for a wide range of industrial and commercial applications.

Find out more about our government buyer program as well as selected clients, or contact Electrocorp for more information.
  

Dry cleaning industry concerned with chemical exposure

Dry cleaners may have a higher risk of
developing Parkinson's, study shows.

The dry cleaning process revolves around chemicals and solvent-laden fluids, so the risk of chemical exposure is relatively high.

Occupational health and safety concerns are especially valid when it comes to the chemicals perchloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene (perc and TCE), which have been linked to Parkinson’s disease.

In a study released in November, researchers found strong links between exposure to these chemicals and a heightened risk of Parkinson’s disease, a disorder that causes tremor and unsteady gait.

Parkinson’s affects about 700,000 Americans. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's and is more common in the elderly.

The study found that risk of Parkinson’s disease was increased six-fold in people who worked with TCE and 10-fold in those who worked with perc. 

The effects were not immediate; exposure preceded the onset of Parkinson’s by 30 to 40 years.

Those working in the dry cleaning business and electricians were identified as being most at risk of exposure and subsequent health concerns.

Other industry players warn that the study included a small sample size and should not be seen as conclusive.

Source: National Clothesline

Improve indoor air quality with industrial air cleaners

RSU Series: Portable air cleaners
with many pounds of carbon.

Electrocorp specializes in portable, highly efficient air cleaners for businesses and commercial applications.

The air cleaners remove the widest range of indoor air pollutants with a multistage filtration system that contains activated carbon, HEPA, UV (optional) and pre-filters.

Activated carbon is the most effective filter media to remove gaseous pollutants and airborne chemicals.

For dry cleaning operations, Electrocorp offers a range of air cleaners, including the powerful RSU Series.

For more information, contact Electrocorp.
 

TCE more dangerous than previously thought

TCE contamination is a public health risk.

The industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) just got an upgraded risk assessment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which found that it causes kidney and liver cancer, lymphoma and other health problems.

As one of the most widespread groundwater contaminants in the nation, TCE may thus be more dangerous than previously thought.

The findings could lead to higher cleanup costs and a new federal drinking-water standard for the contaminant, which currently stands at 5 parts per billion in water and 1 microgram per cubic meter in the air.

According to EPA officials, the new risk assessment could affect cleanup strategies at 761 Superfund sites. TCE has been found in almost every state, but a lot of it is in California, including two Superfund sites on military bases Camp Pendleton and Edwards Air Force Base.

Underground plumes of TCE often lead to high ambient levels of the chemical in the air and affect people in their homes, at work or on the move. Soil vapor intrusion in homes above contaminated groundwater is a major concern, experts say.

What is TCE?

The chlorinated solvent was developed by chemists in the late 19th century and was widely used after the Second World War as a metal degreaser, as a chemical intermediate and extractant, and as a component of some consumer products.

TCE is designated as a Hazardous Air Pollutant, is a common groundwater contaminant, and has been found at more than 1,500 hazardous waste sites, according to EPA.

TCE can be released to indoor air from the use of TCE-containing consumer products, volatilization from water supplies, and vapor intrusion through walls and floors from contaminated soil and groundwater.

Air cleaners for better indoor air quality

RAP 204:
Strong air cleaner

Only an industrial-strength air cleaner with a large activated carbon filter can remove airborne chemicals, odors, gases and fumes that contribute to poor indoor air quality.

Electrocorp’s portable air treatment systems are equipped with the largest carbon filters in the industry as well as HEPA and other filters to capture the widest range of contaminants from the ambient air.

Electrocorp works with environmental consultants and government agencies to provide cleaner air in many indoor spaces and also offers residential air purifiers with carbon + HEPA filtration for single- or double-family units that may be affected by soil vapor intrusion or other IAQ concerns.

Contact Electrocorp today for more information on our air cleaners, our exclusive carbon blends to target specific contaminants and other available options.

Source: Los Angeles Times, EPA
  
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