Pitt settles PCB violation dispute

The Environmental Protection Agency and Pitt settled a dispute for $8,941 for the University’s… The Environmental Protection Agency and Pitt settled a dispute for $8,941 for the University’s alleged violation of toxic substance regulations. But the basis of the dispute came down to a paperwork oversight, according to both the EPA and Pitt.

In six buildings throughout the University, chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls are used to conduct electricity. PCB has been found to cause cancer as well as immune and reproductive system deficiencies in rats, and in 1979 its use was banned on transformers in buildings.

“The violations were record-keeping in nature and were not related to improper handling or disposal of PCBs or other hazardous materials,” University spokesman Ron Cichowicz wrote in a statement.

However, it’s not illegal to use PCB. If PCB was already present in a particular building there are strict regulations dealing with the use of the chemical.

First, it must be clearly labeled. Second, it must be checked routinely for leaks. Third, it must be registered with the PCB transformer database by December 1998, which Pitt failed to do.

“The enforcement action was based on record-keeping. The University just failed to register,” EPA inspector Scott Rice said.

According to Cichowicz, the process for correcting the registration oversight had started prior to the EPA visit.

Bonnie Smith, a spokeswoman for the EPA, said the inspection did not come from a threat to human health.

“If we were concerned with immediate danger to people we would have had an almost emergency response situation,” Smith said.

Cichowicz also said there were no people at risk.

“At no time was the safety of students, faculty, or staff compromised by the overdue registration of this equipment,” he said.

Rice said he thinks of the problem as a management accident rather than an intentional action by a Pitt official.

“[The mistake was] certainly not willful or malicious,” Rice said, “I just think it was an oversight by the Environmental Health and Safety folks.”

Along with the registration problem, a door to a PCB transformer in Victoria Hall was not properly labeled, a problem that was fixed the same day that Rice found it unmarked.

Rice noted that several buildings that still use PCB are removing them because the cost of eliminating PCB materials is rising.

“Disposal costs [for PCB transformers] are getting higher and higher,” Rice said. “It’s not going to get any cheaper to get rid of transformers.”

Smith emphasized that “the important part is that the University is now in compliance with those regulations.”

As part of the settlement, Pitt neither denied nor admitted to the alleged violations.