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NPEP Success Story
AEP Ohio’s Picway Plant Eliminates PCB-Containing Transformer / Rectifier Sets
Picway Plant is located just south of Columbus, Ohio and is a power plant that was commissioned in 1926. Construction was completed in 1955 on Unit 5, a 100 MW unit that is the plant’s only remaining unit in service. Picway Plant is owned by a subsidiary of American Electric Power, a company entering its second century of operation. There are 35 employees at the plant.
Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are in place to control particulate emissions at Picway and are an essential component of our generation infrastructure. The ESPs depend on transformer / rectifier (T/R) sets to provide the electrostatic charge required to properly remove particulates from the unit’s exhaust stream.
EPA official presents an NPEP Enrollment Plaque to Dan Henry, Amy Heinsman, and Chris Johnson of AEP Ohio's Picway Plant.
AEP Ohio / Picway Plant’s NPEP Goal
AEP Ohio / Picway Plant joined NPEP in February 2008. The stated goal was to execute a voluntary source reduction of PCBs by switching out the plant’s PCB-containing T/R sets with sets containing no PCBs.
Source Reduction Alternative Considered
The alternative chosen was equipment modification and replacement. The PCB-containing T/R sets were replaced with T/R sets that utilized electrical insulating fluid that contained no PCBs.
Hurdles Faced
Staging of the crane to allow safe removal of the T/R sets and actual removal was the biggest physical challenge that was faced in accomplishing this source reduction. The removed transformers were trucked to a TSCA-licensed facility for compliant disposal.
Waste Minimization Results
Plant management committed to remove PCB T/R sets, thereby reducing the amount of PCBs contained in the replacement T/R sets to zero. The total weight of the PCB articles removed was 8,718 pounds, with 4,571 pounds of that weight being Inerteen, a trade name for a fire resistant electrical insulating fluid containing PCBs. Cost for the project was $41,000 dollars. A key benefit of this project is the elimination of the potential for a PCB spill and resulting remediation/clean-up.
Lessons Learned
We learned there is a lot more to this job than we originally anticipated. Reviewing and understanding the regulations, and stressing the importance of carrying through with every compliance aspect were essential to finishing the project without incident. Careful planning and attention to detail yielded a safe, environmentally compliant, and successful project.