Fax report on oil and PCB spills at Ground Zero,

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

FROM : Nev. 29 2001 11:16PM P2

According to Clendenin, Con Ed lost 30,000 gallons of dielectric fluid _ essentially mineral oil _ from several high-voltage lines when 7 World Trade Center collapsed. The building's fdl late in the afternoon of Sept. 11 may have resulted from a ragiag fi<e.fed- by fuel from the storage tanks beneath the building, according to some familiar with the Trade Center complex.

In addition, 100,000 gallons of insulating oil containing PCBs spilled from large transformers and capacitors when the substations behind 7 WTC were destroyed. •To the best of our knowledge, those transformer oils contained 1 to 10 ports per million of PCBs," Clendenin said _ considerably below the state danger level of 50 parts per mrlhon.

Production of PCBs _ polychlorinated biphenyls _ has been banned in the U.S. since 1977, when the federal government decided them dangerous to human health. But many PCBs are still found in old transformers, industrial equipment and fluorescent lighting fixtures. Exposure to high levels of PCBs for brief periods can result in acnelike skin conditions in adults and neurobehavioral and immunological problems in children.

Long-term exposure can cause cancer, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry.

But even low levels of PCBs could signal environmental problems in the presence of an uncontrolled fire, say both Hang and environment officials.

"The incomplete combustion of PCBs could be a source" of dioxins, Hang wrote in his Nov. 25 letter, and that "could pose a grave threat to the health of those working on or near the site, as well as those living nearby.”

EPA monitoring reports have shown levels of dioxin around the WTC site exceed safety levels for what the agency calls a "30-year exposure period." A handful of readings have been above safety levels for a one-year exposure _ meaning constant exposure over a year could result in serious health problems. EPA spokeswoman Mary Helen Cervantes said the agency expected to see increased dioxin levels at a major fire like the one at the Trade Center.

"We're definitely concerned about any possible toxic substances that are being released down there," she said. So far, Con Ed's estimate of the low PCB content in its lost oil has not been verified by die DEC or any other independent agency.

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