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PCBs in Older Buildings: Measuring PCB Levels in Caulk and Window Glazing Materials in Older Buildings
Citation:
Osemwengie, L. AND J. Morgan. PCBs in Older Buildings: Measuring PCB Levels in Caulk and Window Glazing Materials in Older Buildings. Environments. MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, 6(2):15, (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/environments6020015
Impact/Purpose:
PCBs are known developmental toxins for mammals. They are suspected of causing adverse carcinogenic, immunologic, neurologic, hormonal, and reproductive effects in humans[1]. Prior to the ban of PCB use in 1977, caulking and glazing materials, mainly polysulfides, were sometimes formulated or mixed with the PCB Aroclor mixtures[2] to give the sealant its characteristic elasticity, which made it ideal for sealing windows and door joints, building joints, and seams. Aroclor types, ranging from 1242 to 1262, were commonly used in sealants. These were demonstrated to be the primary sources of PCB contamination within and near buildings, including schools, built prior to the ban on PCB use[3]. In Finland, the amounts of PCBs used in the preparation of the sealants were estimated to vary from 5 to 30% by weight for a total of 130 to 270 metric tons[4, 5]. Studies in Germany, Sweden, and Finland correlated PCB levels in air, soil, and dust with those in caulking materials used to seal buildings[6-10]. In 2004, using U.S. EPA SW846 Method 8082A (U.S. EPA 1998), Herrick et. al.,[11] investigated PCB contamination in schools and other buildings in the Greater Boston area of the United States. One-third of the caulking samples contained PCBs above 50 μg/g (range, 70.5 to 36,200 μg/g), as Aroclors 1254 and 1260, exceeding the U.S. EPA’s 50 μg/g criteria under the Toxic Substance Control Act for which a material must be handled and disposed as PCB bulk product waste[12].
Description:
A method for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in caulk was developed. This method was evaluated by application to a combination of 47 samples of caulk, glazing materials, and including quality control samples, from four schools in the northeastern area of the United States. These samples were collected from the interior and exterior doors, windows, interior building seams, around installed fixtures and appliances, and within interior and exterior building joints. The choice of materials for testing the efficacy of this method, emanated from the excessive use of caulk and glazing materials in older school buildings in the United States. Quality control analysis showed a range of 45 to 170 % for spike recovery from the various samples and a range of 10.9 to 20.1 % difference in precision. The result for the samples analyzed showed that three of the four schools sampled contained caulking and glazing materials with levels of PCBs >50μg/g (range 54.6μg/g to 445,000μg/g). Across the four schools, 24% of collected caulk and glazing samples had elevated PCB levels relative to the U.S. EPA’s 50 ug/g criteria under the Toxic Substance Control Act. The PCBs determined in the samples, exhibited characteristic chromatographic patterns similar to those of Aroclor 1242, 1248, 1254, 1260, 1262, and a 1016/1254 mix.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: PCBs in Older Buildings: Measuring PCB Levels in Caulk and Window Glazing Materials in Older Buildings
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