Training offers guidance for reducing PCB pollution and protecting water quality We’re providing training to help business owners, consultants, and contractors safely maintain and abate buildings that contain polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These manmade chemicals were widely used in building materials to add flexibility, adhesion, and durability. But they can also pose health risks and contaminate stormwater, soils, sediments, and affect indoor air quality. Free training opportunities for private and public sectors The good news is that we have strategies for managing building materials that contain PCBs. We are hosting two free online trainings about the guidance we developed, How to Find and Address PCBs in Building Materials. Trainings will take place on the following dates: June 14, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. for property owners, developers, and other businesses. June 27, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. for government agencies and other regulators. The trainings will cover: How to identify building materials that may contain PCBs. Options for characterizing and managing these materials. How to protect stormwater while these materials are left in place or when they are abated. How to estimate abatement project costs. We will have time at the end of the presentation for informal discussion. It’s not too late to register for either training session. Why it matters PCBs cause cancer in animals and are likely to cause cancer in people. They can harm the immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems in people and other organisms. Even though production of PCBs was banned in 1979 by the EPA, they’re still present in many existing buildings. We’re working to manage PCBs in building materials like concrete, caulking, paint, and certain types of siding and roofing. That’s important because these materials can release PCBs into the environment through indoor air, construction debris, or runoff. Once PCBs have traveled into the environment, they can accumulate in people and animals, becoming more concentrated in organisms at the top of the food chain, like orcas and humans. This is a particular problem for areas with a history of heavy industrial use, such as the Duwamish Waterway in Seattle and the Spokane River watershed, where sediments contaminated with PCBs make it unsafe to eat fish and shellfish from these waters. Our grant from the EPA The guidance and these trainings are made possible by a National Estuary Program grant from the EPA. Our goal is educational: We want to reduce pollution from PCBs in building materials by promoting best practices before demolition or renovation, when PCBs are more likely to be released into the environment. |
Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force
