pcb’s

Q&A: Is the HazMat endorsement on the CDL required for transporting PCBs?

Q&A: Is the HazMat endorsement on the CDL required for transporting PCBs?

A question (12.12.17):

Hello,

As part of the power industry we come into contact with materials containing PCB’s. My question is prior to a sample being taken, therefore assuming it is indeed PCB contaminated, does that require the HazMat endorsement for our drivers? I saw a previous response you gave stating it directly related to the amount of PCB’s in the object, but it is much easier to take samples and test materials after they have been transported back to our facility. Will that require the special licensure?

Thanks.

Contact me with any questions you may have about the transportation of hazardous materials by air, highway, vessel, or rail

International and Domestic

Daniels Training Services, Inc.

815.821.1550

Info@DanielsTraining.com

https://www.danielstraining.com/

My answer the same day:

Thank you for contacting me.  I am happy to answer your question.  Please see below.

  • PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials are a Reportable Quantity (RQ) of a hazardous substance if there is at least 1 lb of PCBs in the package (the RQ of PCBs is 1 lb).  This is a result of the concentration and the total weight of oil in the package:
  • If a Reportable Quantity of a hazardous substance is present, the material is a hazardous material per USDOT/PHMSA Hazardous Materials Regulations.
  • If it does not meet the defining criteria for any of the first eight hazard classes, then it will be a Class 9 Miscellaneous hazardous material.
  • A Class 9 Miscellaneous does not require the display of placards on the vehicle when transported within the U.S.  Read: Is the Class 9 Placard Required?
  • If placards are not required on the vehicle, then the hazmat endorsement is not required on the CDL.  Indeed, depending on the size of the vehicle and if it crosses state lines it may not be a commercial motor vehicle at all.  Read more about Commercial Motor Vehicles
  • Hazmat employee training is required for anyone involved in the transport of a hazardous material.
  • The operator of a motor vehicle that transports hazmat requires hazmat employee training and an additional component for Driver Training.  Driver training is not required if the hazmat endorsement is maintained on the CDL.
  • The Materials of Trade exception will provide you relief from most hazmat regulations (even training!) if applicable.  Read:  The Materials of Trade Exception.
In sum:PCB Transformer Class 9 Placard
  • You may assume the oil to contain regulated amounts of PCBs and transport as a hazardous material under the Materials of Trade Exception.
I hope this helps.  Please contact me with any other questions.

Q&A: Transportation of Transformer Oil with PCBs

A question from a past Onsite Training customer (4.20.15):

Daniel,

I have a question. We need to ship out a sample approximately a quart of transformer oil which contains 550 ppm PCBs. If the material is below the RQ value (see enclosed letter), what type of labeling is required, or does it since it’s below the RQ value?

My reply that same day:

I will take a look at it and get back to you.

Turns out he didn’t need the information after all (4.20.15):

No problem, I found out that my lab can do the testing, so I don’t have to ship the material out.

Pre-printed label used to identify a PCB WasteDid that stop me?  No!  (April 22, 2015):

Not sure if you require this information any more, but here goes:

A PCB oil is only a hazardous materials subject to USDOT regulations in transportation if there is 1 lb or greater of PCBs in a single packaging. 1 quart at 550 ppm would be well below 1 lb of PCBs, therefore it is not a HazMat when transported.

A PCB oil of this concentration would be subject to TSCA regulations of which I am not very familiar.

I hope this helps.

Dan

Wait, how did you know that?

First of all, let’s look at the entry for PCBs in the Hazardous Materials Table (49 CFR 172.101):

Entry for PCBs in Hazardous Materials Table

 

So, you’d think that PCBs are a hazardous material when offered for transportation and that my response to my customer was wrong.  But…you’d say that before looking up the meaning of Special Provision 140 in column 7, which reads:

This material is regulated only when it meets the defining criteria for a hazardous substance or a marine pollutant…

So, is it a marine pollutant?

PCBs are identified on the marine pollutant list at Appendix B to 49 CFR 172.101, but to be regulated as a marine pollutant it must also offered for transportation by vessel or transported in a bulk packaging, neither of which is the case here.

Is it a hazardous substance?

No, because a Reportable Quantity of PCBs is 1 pound, as I described in my email of 4.22.15, the volume of oil and concentration of PCBs put it well below this amount.

Contact me with any questions you may have about the transportation of hazardous materials by air, highway, vessel, or rail

International and Domestic

Daniels Training Services

815.821.1550

Info@DanielsTraining.com

https://www.danielstraining.com/

There you have it.  While the amount and concentration of PCB oil considered for transportation was not a hazardous material, a different packaging and volume might be.  Be sure to carefully research the Hazardous Material Regulations of the PHMSA/USDOT before you send that sample to the lab.

Or, contact me to answer your questions or to provide HazMat Employee training.

Q&A: PCBs and DEHP in Lighting Ballast

Q&A: PCBs and DEHP in Lighting Ballast

On February 12, 2015 a person who I assume to be a demolition contractor – not a customer of mine – asked a question through the Contact Me page of my website.

light fixture ballastI am working on a demolition project removing a coal fed power plant. The demolition crew is in the process of removing universal waste and as they remove the light ballasts we are checking for PCB/No PCB’s to determine how to dispose of them. Now reading further into the disposal process I came across DEHP. I did a little research on this DEHP and on your website it says that DEHP is a hazardous waste if it’s pure, but once used in a ballast it will no longer meet the description of a U-listed hazardous waste. My interpretation of that is it is no longer a hazardous waste and can be disposed of as construction debris as long as is not exhibiting leakage. Please respond. Thank You.

 On February 17, 2015 I replied.

Thank you for contacting me with your question.  I apologize for taking so long in getting back to you.

I assume you read my blog article on the disposal of lighting ballast.  I’m glad you were able to use it as guidance.  In sum:

  • The generator of a waste is required to make the hazardous waste determination based on generator knowledge (e.g. “No PCB” written on a ballast and/or its date of manufacture) or analytical (e.g. collecting a sample and submitting it to a lab for analysis).
  • Unless disposed of unused, DEHP is not a listed hazardous waste.
  • A ballast may be a hazardous waste if it exhibits a characteristic (i.e. Ignitability, Corrosivity, Reactivity, Toxcity).  While I don’t think a ballast will exhibit any of these hazardous waste characteristics, it is possible and it is the generator’s responsibility to make this determination.
  • If the ballast does not contain PCBs, is used and therefore not a U-Listed hazardous waste, and does not exhibit a characteristic, then it is not a hazardous waste and can be disposed of in non-hazardous (Subtitle D) landfill.  Whether it is leaking or not should not be an issue.
  • Free liquids cannot go to landfill.
  • The landfill may not wish to accept this waste – or any other – at its own discretion.
  • I am not familiar with construction debris landfills to speak to that issue.
  • Recycling as scrap metal (if approved by the recycler) is preferable to landfill disposal (in my opinion).

I hope this helps.

Dan

 On February 18, 2015 questioner replied.

Thank You for your reply.

Got a question?  Whether your a customer of mine or not I’m glad to help in any way I can.

Daniels Training Services

815.821.1550

Info@DanielsTraining.com

https://www.danielstraining.com/

City of Tacoma settles with EPA for violating federal rules on PCBs in used oil

Release Date: 09/30/2013

Contact Information: Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Region 10 Public Affairs, 206-295-4829, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

(Seattle – September 30, 2013) The City of Tacoma has settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating federal rules on used oil contaminated with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.

“Today’s settlement should serve as a reminder that handling used oil requires attention to the requirements designed to prevent the distribution of PCBs,” said Edward Kowalski, Director of EPA’s enforcement program in Seattle. “Simple testing for PCBs before shipping used oil off-site helps protect people and the environment and prevents contamination of oil that can otherwise be recycled and reused.”
 
According to EPA, the City of Tacoma shipped 750 gallons of used oil contaminated with PCBs from the City’s landfill to Emerald Services, an oil recycling and reuse company. The City did not know that the used oil was contaminated with PCBs before they shipped the oil. Emerald Services found the problem during their routine oil testing and was able to trace the PCB-contaminated oil to the City’s shipment.
 
EPA discovered the violations when Emerald Services provided a waste report to EPA, as required by federal regulations, describing the PCB waste. The City’s oil shipment resulted in the PCB contamination of approximately 8,250 gallons of used oil at Emerald Services. Under federal rules, Emerald Services could not recycle the PCB-contaminated oil, and instead was required to dispose of the used oil as hazardous waste.
 
To settle the violations, the City of Tacoma has agreed to pay a $40,000 federal penalty.
 
PCBs are chemicals used in paints, industrial equipment, and cooling oil for electrical transformers. More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the U.S. before EPA banned their production in 1978, and many PCB-containing materials are still in use today.
 
When released into the environment, PCBs remain for decades. Tests have shown that PCBs cause cancer in animals and are suspected carcinogens in humans. Concerns about human health and the persistence of PCBs in the environment led Congress to enact the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976.
 
More about safely recycling oil:  http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/index.htm

Read more about the Management of Used Oil.  It is important to note that oil containing PCB’s cannot meet the definition of a Used Oil and therefore cannot be managed per 40 CFR 279.  PCB-containing oil must be handled per the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) regulations of 40 CFR 761, and not the RCRA regulations of 40 CFR 239-299.  It is not managed as a hazardous waste as the 3rd paragraph of the above news release reports.

Though not a hazardous waste, a used oil is still subject to regulations governing its composition, on-site management, and off-site disposal.  Make certain you are in compliance with these regulations and everything else required by RCRA.  The cost of training is slight compared to fines like these.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions about the management of used oil, hazardous waste, universal waste, and more.

North Carolina Used Oil Recycling Business and Owner Plead Guilty to Unlawful Handling of PCB-Contaminated Used Oil and Other Crimes

Benjamin Franklin Pass, 60, and P&W Waste Oil Services Inc. of Wilmington, N.C., pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act, as well as for making false statements and failing to pay several years of taxes, announced the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  The defendants admitted to, among other things, the unlawful handling of a toxic substance that resulted in widespread contamination.
The P&W facility in Leland, N.C., included a tank farm consisting of multiple tanks ranging from 20,000 gallons to 500,000 gallons.  The facility is located approximately 500 feet to the east of the Cape Fear River and a federally recognized wetland.As part of its business operations, P&W transported, processed and marketed used oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).  P&W received the used oil from small and large companies, such as automotive service stations, transformer repair companies and marinas.  P&W also conducted tank cleaning and waste removal.According to the charges filed in federal court in Raleigh, N.C., and information stated in open court, the defendants knowingly failed to comply with regulations covering PCB-contaminated used oil by unlawfully transporting, storing and disposing of used oil contaminated with PCBs.  Specifically, in July 2009, an employee transported waste oil containing fluid from five PCB transformers from a site in Wallace, S.C., to the P&W facility.  The investigation revealed that the waste oil was contaminated with PCB concentrations in excess of 500 parts per million.

“Enforcing our environmental laws is essential to protecting the health of North Carolina’s residents and their natural resources,” said Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “PCBs are well known to pose substantial risks to human health and the environment and must be handled responsibly and lawfully.  We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who ignore the laws Congress enacted in order to protect the people and the environment from coming into contact with this toxic substance.”

“This disregard of environmental protections resulted in significant contamination,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Thomas G. Walker.  “The defendant’s conduct placed an economic burden on the United States and an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the citizens of North Carolina.”

Despite knowledge of the investigation into the defendants’ illegal handling of PCB-contaminated used oil, Pass and an employee of P&W (at Pass’ direction) continued to unlawfully dilute the contaminated used oil.  The mishandling of the PCB-contaminated used oil resulted in the wide-spread contamination at the site and other sites, resulting in millions of dollars in cleanup costs.

PCBs pose such an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment that effective Jan. 1, 1978, Congress banned the production of PCBs and mandated that no person may distribute in commerce, or use any PCBs other than in a totally enclosed manner, and directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate rules phasing out the manufacture of PCBs and regulating their disposal.

As part of the plea agreements, Pass agreed to pay $538,587, plus interest, in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.  P&W agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $19 million as compensation to Colonial Oil and International Paper for the costs associated with the storage and proper disposal of PCB-contaminated used oil as well as any monetary losses associated with the illegal handling, storage and transportation of toxic substances.  P&W also agreed to a five-year term of probation and to take remedial action to address the environmental contamination at its facility in eastern North Carolina and other leased property in eastern North Carolina, including but not limited to, the proper treatment and/or disposal of PCB-contaminated waste oil.

Currently, efforts are underway to clean up the contamination at P&W’s facility in Leland, N.C., which has been designated a Superfund site by the EPA.  Superfund is the name given to the federal environmental program established to clean up the nation’s uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

“The license to run a business is not a license to avoid paying taxes,” said Richard Weber, Chief, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation. “IRS Criminal Investigation provides financial investigative expertise in our work with our law enforcement partners.  As today’s announcement shows, our skills support a wide range of investigations.  Pass’ plea demonstrates the strength of our collective efforts to enforce the law and ensure public trust.”

“The defendant’s failure to notify EPA of the presence and intentional dilution of PCB-contaminated fuel oil not only posed a risk to public health and the environment, but also demonstrated the level of disregard for the laws that were designed to protect us.” said Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge of Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) criminal enforcement office in Atlanta.  “Today’s guilty plea sends a clear message that the government will prosecute those who recklessly endanger the health of our communities and environment by ignoring the law.”

The defendants entered their plea before U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney Walker and Acting Assistant Attorney General Dreher praised the efforts of the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the IRS’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Criminal Investigative Services for their diligent work in the investigation of this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Shennie Patel of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division are the prosecutors in charge of the case.

The Used Oil regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) allow generators of certain wastes to manage them under a set of standards that are more relaxed than those for hazardous waste, the Used Oil Standard at 40 CFR 279.  This is allowed even if the Used Oil exhibits the characteristics of a hazardous waste:  Ignitability, Corrosivity, Reactivity, & Toxicity.  However, per 40 CFR 279.10(i) the Used Oil Regulations are not applicable if the waste contains PCBs at concentrations of 50 ppm or greater.  Wastes with PCB concentrations above the 50 ppm threshold may not dilute the waste in order to lower its concentration (as in this case) unless the dilution is specifically allowed at 40 CFR 761.

Though not regulated as a hazardous waste, the Used Oil Standard is a part of the RCRA regulations and does contain its own specific requirements to ensure compliance.  It is just one of the topics I cover thoroughly at my Hazardous Waste Personnel Training Seminars, Onsite Training, and Web-Based Training.

EPA Fines Phoenix Lamp Recycler More Than $70,000 for PCB Violations

News Release:
06/05/2013

For Immediate Release: June 5, 2013

Contact:  Rusty Harris-Bishop, 415-972-3140, harris-bishop.rusty@epa.gov                                                                                                                        

SAN FRANCISCO: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it has settled with Lighting Resources, LLC for $71,500 for violations relating to its handling of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at its Phoenix, Ariz. recycling facility.

“Exposure to PCBs is a concern whenever facilities are handling materials containing these toxic chemicals,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our goal is to safeguard worker health and nearby communities by ensuring that Lighting Resources takes the necessary steps to improve the safety of their recycling and disposal practices.” 

The facility is permitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to manage and store PCB wastes. Separate permits allow the facility to recycle fluorescent lamps and ballasts, batteries, electronic wastes, and mercury devices. The facility also manages non-PCB ballasts, phosphorous powders, aerosol cans, and mercury containing wastes. The company operates facilities in five states and is one of the nation’s largest ballast processors.

EPA inspections in 2008 and 2012 found that the Phoenix facility had not effectively decontaminated its PCB handling area, documented the transport and disposal of PCB-contaminated materials, or properly labeled PCB and hazardous waste containers.

PCBs are man-made organic chemicals used in paints, industrial equipment, plastics, and cooling oil for electrical transformers. More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the United States before the EPA banned the production of this chemical class in 1978, and many PCB-containing materials are still in use today.

When released into the environment, PCBs remain for decades. Tests have shown that PCBs cause cancer in animals and are suspected carcinogens in humans. Acute PCB exposure can also adversely affect the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems as well as liver function. Concerns about human health and the extensive presence and lengthy persistence of PCBs in the environment led Congress to enact TSCA in 1976.

For more information on PCB regulation and enforcement, as well as TSCA enforcement in general, please visit the EPA’s website at:

Also, you may read this earlier article of mine about the presence of PCBs and DEHP in lighting ballast:  Disposal of Lighting Ballast – Consideration of PCBs and DEHP.