Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Superfund?
In 1980, Congress established the Superfund
Program to locate, investigate, and clean up the worst hazardous
waste sites nationwide. The full name of this law is "The
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act" (CERCLA). The EPA administers the Superfund program in
cooperation with individual states and tribal governments. The
office that oversees management of the program is the Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR).
This environmental law created a tax on the chemical and
petroleum industries and provided broad federal authority to
respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous
wastes that may endanger public health or the environment. Over
five years, $1.6 billion was collected and the tax went to an
environmental trust fund for cleaning up abandoned or
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
CERCLA established prohibitions and
requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste
sites; provided for liability of persons responsible for
releases of hazardous waste at these sites; and established a
trust fund (the "Superfund") to provide for cleanup when no
responsible party could be identified.
The law authorizes two kinds of response
actions:
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Short-term environmental removals, where
actions may be taken to address hazardous waste releases or
threatened releases requiring prompt response.
-
Long-term remediation response actions,
that permanently and significantly reduce the dangers
associated with releases or threats of releases of hazardous
substances that are serious, but not immediately life
threatening.
Unfortunately, in the 1990's, Congress let
the surcharge tax on chemical feedstocks and petroleum companies
lapse, allowing the Superfund to run dry, which has become a
major hindrance to the cleanup program. Annual continuing
appropriations of general public tax dollars are now used, but
in a more limited fashion.
www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/
A list of the Superfund priority sites can
be found at the following website:
www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/index.htm
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2. How big is the PCB removal market?
The size of the global market for the
cleanup and removal of PCB compounds has been estimated at $ 40
billion. The biggest markets are located in the United States,
Western Europe and Japan.
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3. What is the purpose in using Alumina in the PCB
purification process?
Alumina C is specifically manufactured for
it’s ability to bind to polychlorinated biphenyls. The agent
adsorbs PCB particles. PCB containing soil and sediment is
processed in a slurry form, with the contaminated materials run
through a column for batch processing. The PCB is then isolated
and collected to be disposed of in a concentrated form.
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4. What is then done with the concentrated PCB material?
Multiple physical and biologic processes
have been developed to remove the contaminated PCB material once
it has been processed into a concentrated form.
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5. If PCB manufacturing was discontinued more than 30 years
ago why is it considered a biological risk today?
PCBs are sturdy molecules and are difficult
to destroy. The more chloride ions substituted on the molecule
the more potent the compound. They concentrate as they are
ingested up the food chain and are dangerous to the health of
marine and aviary species. In man they are a known carcinogen.
Recent studies performed in the Hudson River, the Inner Harbor
and Baltimore and the Housatonic River in Western Massachusetts
have identified a natural anaerobic bacteria which degrades PCB
agents.
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6. Is the newly discovered biological species ready to clean
up our PCB stockpile in waste sites?
While scientists aggressively work on this
exciting new discovery we are still years away from a
bioremediation solution for PCB cleanup. Until then the best
available means of PCB removal remains isolation, concentration
and purification using alumina and then physical disposal of the
concentrated PCB materials.
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7. What are polychlorinated biphenyls?
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are a group
of 209 synthetic organic compounds classified as aromatic
hydrocarbons. They were used primarily in commercial and
industrial applications because of their highly favorable
properties. PCBs are distinguished by their chemical stability,
slow degradation, and ability to be mixed with organic
compounds, rendering PCBs highly useful in the electrical
industry.
In the United States, PCBs were manufactured
by the Monsanto Chemical Company under the trade name Aroclor
starting in 1929 until their production ban in 1977. Although
manufacturing has ceased, PCBs continue to pose a great threat
to human health and the environment, resisting biodegradation
and, therefore, remain in the air, water, and soil for years
causing bioaccumulation.
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8. What happens once PCBs enter the environment?
More than 99% of PCB wastes produced have
been released into the environment. Once released, PCBs may
cycle between air, water, and soil at ambient temperatures.
These hazardous compounds exist as vapor in the air and may be
transported to other areas or accumulate in vegetation and food
crops, subsequently spreading contamination to other parts of
the world. Small PCB particles exist in water from accidental
spill runoff and are carried to other areas through diffusion
and currents. Soil contains higher levels of PCB waste than air
or water because PCB particles strongly bind with soil and are
readily removed from the air and water.
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9. How does PCB bioaccumulation occur?
The transfer of PCBs from sediment to humans
is a swift process. PCBs existent in underwater sediments are
eaten by tiny organisms. These tiny organisms are then consumed
by small fish, storing PCBs in their body fat. Eventually, PCBs
travel up the food chain to larger fish, birds, land animals and
ultimately to humans. PCBs bind strongly to body fat, greatly
threatening animal and human health.
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10. How may one be exposed to PCBs?
Since their production in the late 1920’s,
PCBs have proven hazardous to human health. Contact with PCBs
occurs through consumption of contaminated animals, primarily
fish. Meat and dairy products also contribute to a large source
of human PCB contamination. The use of old electrical equipment
and old fluorescent lighting, as well as breathing air near
waste sites, or drinking contaminated water are other means of
PCB contamination in humans.
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11. What are the health implications associated with PCB
exposure?
Exposure to PCBs results in a range of adverse health effects
that include: gastrointestinal, immune, endocrine (thyroid),
nervous, reproductive, liver, skin and eye effects, gestational
problems in utero, and cancer. Women regularly exposed to PCBs
for at least six years prior to pregnancy have given birth to
children with developmental effects. The developmental effects
in children include: lower birth weight, smaller head
circumference, premature birth, depressed responsiveness,
impaired visual recognition, poor short-term memory, deficits in
weight gain, low IQ, and poor reading comprehension.
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12. Where are PCBs found?
PCBs have been used for a wide-range of
industrial and commercial purposes. The most frequent use of
PCBs has been in dielectric fluids for industrial electrical
equipment. Many other products have been manufactured using
PCBs, including:
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waxes
-
heat exchange fluids
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caulking compounds
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cutting oils
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carbonless copying paper
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fire retardants
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flame-proofing
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adhesives
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de-dusting agents
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13. Where did PCB manufacturing take place?
Manufacture of PCBs took place in three main
regions, namely, Asia, Europe, and the US. A total of 1.2
million tons of PCBs have been produced worldwide. In the US and
UK, the Monsanto Chemical Company produced PCBs under the trade
name Aroclor. An estimated 85 million pounds (39 million kg) of
Aroclors were produced in the US by 1970. The Bayer AG Company
in Germany manufactured PCBs under the trade name Clophens.® In
Italy, PCBs were manufactured and sold by Caffaro and are known
as Fenclors.® France produced PCBs through Protolec known as
Phenoclors® and Pyralenes.® In the Czech Republic 21,000 tons of
PCBs were produced from 1959 through 1984 by Chemko under the
trade name Denlor®. In Japan 54,000 tons of PCBs were produced
by Kanegafuchi known as Kanechlors.® Worldwide PCB production
stopped in the late 1980’s.
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14. Are PCBs still produced today?
Although PCB production continues today,
their manufacture, use, and disposal are closely regulated by
the EPA. Currently, companies with high electrical consumption
use PCBs as a dielectric in electrical equipment. Note that PCBs
are still existent in old electrical and transformer equipment.
Since 1981, an estimated 131,200 transformers containing PCBs
were in use solely in the United States.
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