by Brianna Crandall — January 7, 2011—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released guidance recommending that schools take steps to reduce potential exposures to PCBs from older fluorescent lighting fixtures. The guidance is based on evidence that the older ballasts contain PCBs that can leak when the ballasts fail, leading to elevated levels of PCBs in the air of schools, which should not represent an immediate threat but could pose health concerns if they persist over time.
EPA banned the processing and distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and were widely used in construction materials and electrical products, in 1979 due to their toxic effects. However, uses of older PCB-containing ballasts were allowed to continue, provided that the ballasts had not failed and the PCBs were not leaking.
If a school was built before 1979 or has not had a complete lighting retrofit since 1979, EPA says, the fluorescent light ballasts probably contain PCBs. Although intact, functioning ballasts do not pose a health threat, these lighting ballasts will all fail in time. For that reason, EPA recommends older PCB-containing lighting ballasts should be removed, whether as part of a previously scheduled lighting retrofit program or as a stand-alone project.
Schools that have older ballasts should examine them to see if they have failed or if PCB leaks are present. If a light ballast is leaking PCBs, federal law requires the immediate removal and disposal of the PCB-containing ballasts and disposal of any PCB-contaminated materials at an EPA approved facility. EPA’s PCB Web site offers guidance on how to properly handle and dispose of PCB-containing fluorescent light ballasts and properly retrofit lighting fixtures to remove potential PCB hazards.
