EPA: United States Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA
Announces Guidance to Communities on PCBs in Caulk of Buildings
Constructed or Renovated Between 1950 and 1978
EPA to gather latest science on PCBs in
caulk
Release date: 09/25/2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2009
WASHINGTON - The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency today announced a series of steps that
building owners and school administrators should take to reduce exposure
to PCBs that may be found in caulk in many buildings constructed or
renovated between 1950 and 1978. The agency is also conducting new
research to better understand the risks posed by caulk containing PCBs.
This research will guide EPA in making further recommendations on
long-term measures to minimize exposure as well as steps to prioritize
and carry out actions to remove the caulk to better protect public
health.
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are man-made chemicals
that persist in the environment and were widely used in construction
materials and electrical products prior to 1978. PCBs can affect the
immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system
and are potentially cancer-causing if they build up in the body over
long periods of time.
=93PCBs
have been banned for the last 30 years for most uses,=94 said EPA
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. =93But unfortunately high levels of PCBs
are present in many buildings and facilities constructed prior to the
PCB ban, including most recently some schools. We=92re concerned about
the potential risks associated with exposure to these PCBs and we=92re
recommending practical, common sense steps to reduce this exposure as we
improve our understanding of the science. For building owners and
administrators who want to take added and more aggressive immediate
steps, EPA is providing additional guidance to help them identify the
extent of potential risks and determine whether mitigation steps are
necessary. Local communities and governments have constrained resources
that make this a particularly challenging and sensitive situation.=94
The
agency has created a website, http://www.epa.gov/pcbsincaulk
, with updated information on this issue. Concerned parties can also
call an EPA hotline toll free at 1-888-835-5372.
Although
Congress banned the manufacture and most uses of PCBs in 1976 and they
were phased out in 1978, there is evidence that many buildings across
the country constructed or renovated from 1950 to 1978 may have PCBs at
high levels in the caulk around windows and door frames, between masonry
columns and in other masonry building materials. Exposure to these PCBs
may occur as a result of their release from the caulk into the air,
dust, surrounding surfaces and soil and through direct contact. EPA has
calculated prudent public health levels that maintain PCB exposures
below the =93reference dose=94 - the amount of PCB exposure that EPA
does not believe will cause harm. Those levels vary depending on the age
group and use assumptions about potential PCB exposures from other
sources, such as diet.
Although
this is a serious issue, the potential presence of PCBs in buildings
should not be a cause for alarm. If buildings were erected or renovated
between 1950 and 1978, EPA recommends that owners implement steps to
minimize exposure to potentially contaminated caulk in the following
ways:
=B7 Cleaning
air ducts
=B7 Improving ventilation by opening
windows and using or installing exhaust fans where
possible
=B7 Cleaning
frequently to reduce dust and residue inside buildings
=B7 Using a wet or damp cloth or mop
to clean surfaces
=B7 Not
sweeping with dry brooms and minimizing the use of dusters in areas near
potential PCB-containing caulk
=B7 Using
vacuums with high efficiency particulate air filters
=B7 Washing hands with soap and water
often, particularly before eating and drinking
=B7 Washing children=92s toys
often
EPA also recommends testing peeling, brittle, cracking
or deteriorating caulk directly for the presence of PCBs and removing
the caulk if PCBs are present at significant levels. Alternately, the
building owner can assume the PCBs are present and proceed directly to
remove deteriorating caulk.
Building owners and facility managers should also
consider testing to determine if PCB levels in the air exceed EPA=92s
suggested public health levels. If testing reveals PCBs in the air above
these levels, building owners should be especially vigilant in
implementing and monitoring ventilation and hygienic practices to
minimize exposures. Owners and managers are encouraged to retest PCB
levels in air to determine whether these practices are reducing the
potential for PCB exposures. Should these practices not reduce exposure,
caulk and other known sources of PCBs should be removed as soon as
practicable.
There are several unresolved scientific issues that
must be better understood to assess the magnitude of the problem and
identify the best long-term solutions. For example, the link between the
concentrations of PCBs in caulk and PCBs in the air or dust is not well
understood. The agency is doing research to determine the sources and
levels of PCBs in buildings in the U.S. and to evaluate different
strategies to reduce exposures. The results of this research will be
used to provide further guidance to building owners as they develop and
implement long-term solutions.
Where buildings were
constructed or renovated between 1950 and 1978, EPA recommends that
PCB-containing caulk be removed during planned renovations and repairs
(when replacing windows, doors, roofs, ventilation, etc.). It is
critically important to ensure that PCBs are not released to the air
during replacement or repair of caulk in affected buildings. EPA is
recommending simple, commonsense work practices to prevent the release
of PCBs during these operations. More information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/pcbsincaulk
.
EPA will work directly with owners and managers facing
serious problems to help them develop a practical approach to reduce
exposures and prioritize the removal of caulk.
Anyone
seeking technical guidance should contact the EPA at
1-888-835-5372.
