Ambient Air PCB Trends at All EPA Lower Manhattan Monitoring Stations

The map below shows the locations of EPA PCB air monitoring stations in lower Manhattan. Select a station to view a chart of ambient PCB values over time. These charts are also available as large format Adobe Acrobat PDF files. To see the data tables visit http://www.epa.gov/wtc/pcb/.

Each chart shows the level of PCBs EPA measured in the air at a given site, on the dates shown. Daily summaries of this data and how it compares to the level of concern for public health are also available.

Location A - Barclay and West Broadway
Location B - Church and Dey
Location C - Liberty and Trinity
Location C1 - Broadway and Liberty
Location D - Albany and Greenwich
Location E - Liberty and South End
Location F - Vesey and West St.
Location P - Albany and South End
Location R - EPA TAGA Bus
Location S - Rector & South End
Pile Location 3 - PCB trends for WTC Building 5 SW
Church and Vesey

PCBs Air Monitoring Data

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or "PCBs", have been used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment because they are good insulators. The manufacture of PCBs was stopped in the U.S. in 1977 because of evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health problems. Products made before 1977 that may contain PCBs include old fluorescent lighting fixtures, electrical devices containing PCB capacitors, and old hydraulic oils.

To date, all measurements of airborne PCBs at sites surrounding the WTC work zone have been below EPA's screening level. The EPA screening level is set well below exposure levels shown to cause cancer in animals, as well as those associated with any other health effects. The screening level is based on continuous exposure for a year to an average concentration of 730 ng/m3*. Because measured PCB levels to date have been significantly lower, we do not expect increased risks of health problems as a result of PCBs from the WTC site.

The EPA screening level is set well below exposure levels shown to cause cancer in animals, as well as those associated with any other health effects.

* The unit, ng/m3, is the mass of PCBs in nanograms (a billionth of a gram) in a cubic meter of air.