Region 2
Serving New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Eight Tribal Nations.
EPA Inspection for PCB-containing lighting ballasts
PS 45, Brooklyn, New York
Nineteen of Nineteen Samples Above Regulatory Limit
On Saturday, February 12, 2011, EPA conducted an inspection at PS 45 to look at lighting ballasts that may contain PCBs and determine if they have leaked in the past or are currently leaking. See below for a chart containing the results of samples taken during this inspection.
If a lighting ballast is leaking PCBs above a regulatory level of 50 parts per million, it is considered an exceedance and federal law requires the immediate removal and disposal of the ballast and disposal of any PCB-contaminated materials at an EPA-approved facility.
A total of nineteen samples were taken from eleven classrooms. All nineteen samples taken showed results above the regulatory limit.
These results show PCB levels that are significantly higher than those found on ballasts and fixtures in schools that EPA has previously inspected. Although there is insufficient information to determine the exact reason why, it is likely that this is because the capacitors in many of the lighting fixtures had burned out and completely failed. This allowed the PCB-containing oil to seep through the potting material in almost pure form. In most of the fixtures tested in this school the actual casing around the ballasts had also broken, allowing the high concentration of PCBs to contaminate the surface of the ballasts, the fixture housings, the wires and the diffusers that cover the lighting fixture.
EPA continues to strongly recommend that the City of New York develop a plan for assessing and addressing leaking ballasts in its schools city-wide.
These recommendations are consistent with EPA’s national guidance recommending that schools take steps to reduce potential exposures to PCBs from older fluorescent lighting fixtures.
PS 45 Brooklyn
February 12, 2011 Sampling Results
Location | Fixture No. | Sample location | Sample Results mg/kg (PPM) | PCB Aroclor | Old/New Ballast | Ballast leaking | Description of Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Room 105 |
1 |
Diffuser |
660,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Stain |
Room 105 |
1 |
Tray |
28,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Stains |
Room 103 |
1 |
Tray |
1800 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Two Tar Globules |
Room 109 |
1 |
Tray |
1100 |
1242 |
New |
Yes |
Dried Tar Drop |
Room 234 |
1 |
Diffuser |
140,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Stain |
Room 234 |
1 |
Tray |
79,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Stains |
Room 229 |
1 |
Diffuser |
610,000 |
1248 |
Old |
Yes |
Oil Stain |
Room 229 |
1 |
Ballast |
650,000 |
1242 |
Old |
Yes |
Bulging ballast w/ oil spatter and thick tar oozing from seam |
Room 229 |
1 |
Tray |
670,000 |
1242 |
Old |
Yes |
Oil Stains |
Room 252 |
1 |
Diffuser |
57,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Stain |
Room 252 |
1 |
Tray |
44,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Tar Globules |
Room 252 |
2 |
Housing |
400,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Spatter |
Room 252 |
2 |
Tray |
110,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Stains |
Room 331 |
1 |
Tray |
30,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil Smears |
Room 350 |
1 |
Tray |
510,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Oil stains |
Room 337 |
1 |
Tray |
500,000 |
1248 |
New |
No |
Liquid Oil and Oil Stains |
Room 337 |
2 |
Tray |
200,000 |
1428 |
New |
No |
Oil Stains |
Room 110A |
2 |
Tray |
1,000 |
1242 |
New |
No |
Charred Stain |
Room 108A |
3 |
Tray |
830 |
1242 |
No Ballast |
No Ballast |
Tar Drop and Oil Spatter |