UB Responds to PCBs Found On North Campus

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo announced today that a plumbing contractor installing a new hot-water system in the Ellicott Complex on the North (Amherst) Campus discovered PCB-laden fuel oil in an underground electrical conduit.

Dennis Black, interim vice president for student affairs, said that the site "is limited to three equipment rooms used only for utility purposes" and "is inaccessible to student sleeping areas."

Work temporarily was stopped at the site and barriers were erected to restrict access to the contaminated area. Work has resumed on the project.

The university has notified both the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the state and county health departments, and is working with Clean Harbors, Inc., a hazardous-waste-remediation contractor for the state Office of General Services, and Adirondack Testing, Inc. to clean up and test the area. DEC officials have visited the site and are monitoring UB clean-up efforts

"While testing and clean-up continues," Black said, "we are pleased by the cooperative approach of all involved agencies, contractors and individuals, both on- and off-campus."

Preliminary testing of the site found high concentration of PCBs in the contractor work area and below the floor of the equipment rooms, near the site of a 1978 PCB spill in a transformer room in Fargo Quadrangle. There is little evidence of further migration of PCBs.

Based upon the preliminary testing, there is no indication that the cleanup could be extensive and expensive.

Direct exposure to the PCB-laden oil is limited to five workers -- three UB employees and two employees of the contractor.

University personnel and the involved workers have been examined by Mitchell Zavon, M.D., medical director of the Union Occupational Health Center and a board-certified specialist in occupational and environmental health.

Results of blood tests of the five workers showed no PCB contamination.

"Our experience with PCBs is such that the kinds of exposure that apparently occurred (at UB) have not caused any significant health problems to date and are highly unlikely to cause any such problems in the future," said Zavon, who has worked in the field for more than 40 years.

Black noted that once university officials became aware of the existence of PCBs, they responded quickly.

"The university has aggressively pursued a coordinated response to the concern, which includes sealing the area to prevent possible future exposures, communication and work with appropriate agencies, testing to determine the extent of any possible health risks to employees and others, and clean-up to restore the functions of the area."

It is not anticipated that the on-going cleanup will affect use of the Ellicott Complex when the fall semester begins on Sept. 2.