A campus power plant contains a variety of electrical equipment used for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, including transformers. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may be found in transformer oil. PCBs can also be present in capacitors, heat transfer systems, hydraulic systems, electromagnets, switches and voltage regulators, circuit breakers, reclosers and cables. PCBs are regulated under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). Since your campus power plant likely operates and maintains transformers, it is important that you are aware of TSCA requirements as they relate to PCB-based oil in electrical transformers. However, any of these other items, if PCB containing, must be managed properly if and when they are being disposed of.
TSCA gives the EPA the authority to regulate those chemical substances and mixtures that "present an unreasonable risk of injury to health and the environment" and to challenge those that are "imminent hazards." Many commercially available substances are subject to this regulation, including oil containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in transformers. Transformers containing oil with PCB concentrations greater than 50 parts per million (ppm) are regulated by TSCA. Facilities are encouraged to remove and properly dispose of PCB-contaminated transformers given the potential risk they pose to human health and the environment.
Before you go too far, you might consider identifying the actual owner of your facility's electrical transformer(s). If a transformer is owned by an entity other than the college or university, such as the electrical company, it is very likely that the responsibility of complying with TSCA does not rest with you. If the transformer is owned by the university or college, however, then the school assumes the responsibility for complying with TSCA. To learn more about TSCA's PCB requirements, continue with the virtual tour.