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Phase II Suspected Materials Testing Results

On February 16^th and 17^th, 2001, Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E) collected samples of building materials from various locations within the Chafee Social Sciences Building (Chafee) to determine PCB content.  The goal of this sampling phase (Phase II) was to quantify the level of PCBs in a variety of building materials that may be the source of the PCB residues found in the building during the Phase I sampling effort.  This round of testing primarily focused on identifying building materials that could potentially contain PCB mixtures.  The results of the Phase II testing are presented in the attached table.

Material Identification: Prior to sampling, EH&E reviewed the professional literature regarding PCB containing materials as well as the architectural plans and building specifications for Chafee.  This review identified a number of building materials that may contain PCBs, added during the manufacturing process.  The most common use of PCBs is as a dielectric fluid in capacitors and transformers, with over 55% of the production of PCBs manufactured for this purpose alone.  However, about 30% of the PCB production in the United States were for use as a plasticizer in a variety of materials, including building products.  Because PCBs are very stable chemicals, PCB containing materials may be a source of contamination as they degrade over time.  A number of materials were identified for evaluation and sampling, resulting in the collection of over 50 samples for analysis.  As part of this effort, EH&E also evaluated the release potential of the suspect materials as well as potential exposure pathways to better understand the Phase I sampling results.

Results:  The levels of PCBs in a few products were elevated compared to many of the materials sampled.  The elevated levels were consistent with those measured in products that have been associated with indoor residues of PCBs, according to the professional literature.  The Phase II results indicate levels of PCBs found within materials, unlike the air, dust or wipe sampling conducted during Phase I that measured PCB levels in the building environment.   Please note that the highest results were measured in an electric motor capacitor and lighting ballast.  The PCBs are sealed in these products and cannot readily enter the environment unless they are physical damaged. 

Based on the results of the sampling, two types of materials were determined to have the highest levels of PCBs and the potential to release material into the building environment.  Gasket materials associated with the windows and caulking material around the window frames from various locations within the building reported elevated levels of PCBs with similar patterns to the mixture reported from the Phase I results (Aroclor 1254).  Samples that tested high for PCBs will be analyzed further measure the individual constituents (congeners) to determine specific matches, if any, with the PCBs found in dust.  The material testing results will then be used to assist in identifying plausible release and exposure mechanisms that could explain the PCB residues detected during Phase I testing. 

Next Steps:  The next step is to verify that the PCB profile in the suspect materials matches the PCB profile of the dust.  This information can then be used to develop the clean-up protocol and remediation guidelines and assist in the establishment of clean-up goals.  The information can also be used to better characterize the potential exposures to the occupants utilizing approved risk assessment techniques.  These data may also be used to refine the epidemiological and medical assessment that is currently under development.