PAGE:1 of 2 / REPLACES POLICY DATED:
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 12, 1999 / REFERENCE NUMBER: DC.002
SCOPE:
All Company facilities, including but not limited to, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, home health agencies, physician practices, and all Corporate Departments, Groups and Divisions.
PURPOSE:
To require that each facility addresses the handling of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in the facility and complies with applicable environmental regulations.
POLICY:
PCBs were used in nonflammable cooling oils in electrical transformers, hydraulic equipment, capacitors, and other electrical equipment from 1929-1976. Facility personnel must properly arrange for a test of potentially-affected equipment and label the equipment to indicate if it contains PCB material. Facility personnel must follow regulatory procedures to clean up PCB spills and dispose of PCB-containing wastes.
This policy addresses federal regulatory requirements. State laws or regulations may impose additional requirements. Each facility should consult with Corporate Engineering Services and the facility’s Operations Counsel to identify and comply with any such additional requirements.
PROCEDURE:
- Facilities that own or lease liquid-fill transformers, medical or research equipment, or hydraulically-operated equipment must conduct sampling and laboratory analysis to determine if the equipment contains PCB. Equipment should be properly labeled to indicate if PCB is detected, or absent, in any piece of equipment that contains hydraulic or transformer fluid.
- For equipment located on a facility’s property but owned by a public utility company, the utility company is responsible for any testing and identification and for any spills from the equipment. Facility personnel must request that the utility company test and label equipment. Facility personnel must inform the utility company promptly if a spill or leak of transformer fluid occurs.
- If a release of fluid from hydraulic equipment occurs, the facility must retain a qualified consultant, approved by the Engineering Services Department, to test the soil or surface materials for PCB content. PCB-containing waste must be disposed of at a treatment or disposal facility specially permitted to take this waste. The facility must use a consultant who has been recommended and approved by the Engineering Services Department.
- Old light ballasts and small capacitors that contain very low amounts of PCBs may be disposed as municipal solid waste. The facilities should verify the state and local codes governing light ballast disposal.
Record-keeping
If applicable, a compliance file must include:- An inventory of PCB-containing equipment;
- PCB waste disposal record; and
- Preventive maintenance records of electric equipment.