PCBs AND ASSOCIATED AROMATICS 859
December 31, 1974: GE is granted a federal permit, with
the full blessings of NYDEC, to discharge up to 30 pounds
per day into the Hudson River.19751975: Federal Register 40 , 11563 (1975): FDA regulations
concerning PCBs in paper/food packaging material.
Despite the recommendation of the 1972 Interdepart-
mental Task force on PCBs [Interdepartmental Task Force
on PCBs. “Polychlorinated biphenyls and the Environment”;
NTIS (COM-72–10410) May 1972] that discharges of PCBs
be strictly controlled, EPA did not effect a policy of strin-
gently curtailing discharges of PCBs from point sources
until December 1975. Thus, GE was allowed to discharge
under its NPDES permit, issued under FWPCA, 30 lb. of
PCBs per day into the Hudson river. When the extent of pol-
lution was brought to light in 1975, the allowable amount of
PCBs discharged was reduced to approximately 1.5 pounds
per day and a limit set of 3.5 ounces per day effective June
1, 1977. EPA did not set a toxic pollutant effluent standard
for PCBs under authority of section 302 of FWPCA until
February 2, 1977.
A report on the ‘Handling and Disposal of PCBs from
Repairs of Electrical Transformers’ was published in
December 1975 [Versar, 1975]. The purpose of the study
was to review the responses to a questionnaire sent out to
13 companies involved with transformer repair at a total of
131 locations. One of the more pertinent findings was that
transformers scrapped by the owner/user may be a serious
potential source of pollution. While those transformers which
are junked by repair shops are governed by a detailed NEMA
specification (ANSI C-107/1974) the disposal of transform-
ers through local junk yards may result in significant pollution
because of lack of information on proper disposal procedures
concerning PCB contaminated transformers. It was noted
that uncontrolled handling of PCB filled transformers by
junk yards was thought to have occurred in the past.
September 1975: A five-region council, the Lake
Michigan Toxic Substance Committee of Midwest States,
passed a resolution urging State agencies to support a ban on
all PCB uses except those determined necessary by public
hearing.
September 1975: CRC Critical Reviews on Environ-
mental Control: description of the health effects of PCBs
with an extensive bibliography of the early literature.
September 8, 1975: Ogden Reid (NYDEC Commissioner)
brought action against GE to reduce discharge to 2 lb. per
day (from 30 lb. per day) by December 31, 1975 and to zero
by September 30, 1976.
October 1975: Wisconsin State officials held public
hearings on the need for a statewide PCB ban.
October 6, 1975: EPA issued a draft set of water quality
criteria under section 304(a) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act.
November, 1975: An administrative hearing was begun
on the discharge of PCBs into the Hudson river, chaired by
a Columbia University Law Professor, Abraham Sofaer, todetermine if GE had violated state water quality standards
and, if so, what sort of restitution the company should rea-
sonably make. GE presented an ‘affirmative defense’ which
held that it had been granted both state and Federal permits
to discharge PCBs. Sofaer agreed that this argument had
“more than superficial appeal” but that it was not enough
to excuse GE from the general requirements of its permit,
which forbade the company to violate state water quality
standards even if the precise prohibitions were not spelled
out. Accordingly, Sofaer ruled that “GE has discharged
PCBs in quantities that have breached applicable standards
of water quality.”
November 3, 1975: Background information on PCBs was
published by the Office of Occupational Health Surveillance
and Biometrics National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, November 3, 1975 to inform the occupational health
community of the then current knowledge concerning indus-
trial uses and the toxicity of PCBs. The document contains
an extensive bibliography of early literature. The report
states that “Prior to the environmental concern surrounding
the persistence and ubiquitousness of PCBs, [Interagency
Task force on PCBs: PCBs and the Environment COM-72-
10419, Washington, DC, March 20, 1972.] they were more
widely used in industry as fluids for heat transfer systems,
hydraulic systems, gas turbines, and vacuum pumps.... ”
November 19–21, 1975: EPA and other Federal agencies
held a PCB conference in Chicago, II. Several articles on the
environmental effects of PCBs that appeared in the popu-
lar press shortly before the conference [Boyle, R.H.: “Of
PCB ppms from GE and a SNAFU from EPA and DEC”;
Audubon 77 , 127 (1975): and Boyle, R.H.: “Poisoned Fish,
Troubled Waters”; Sports Illustrated, September 1, 1975,
pp. 14–17 (1975)] caused considerable public interest in the
conference and a number of demands that EPA regulate PCBs.
December 12, 1975: EPA announced the inclusion of
PCBs in a national monitoring program designed to provide
information for future possible regulation under the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
December 30, 1975: EPA published a proposed list of
hazardous substances for discharge into navigable waters
which included PCBs.1976In early 1976, EPA requested Versar to expand its scope of
work to include a study of wastewater treatment technology
that could be used to reduce the concentration of PCBs in
industrial effluents. [Versar report, May 16, 1979.]
Nagayama et al.^39 (1976) “Determination of Chlorinated
Dibenzofurans in Kanechlors and Yusho Oil.” The presence
of key compounds of concern were identified in Yusho oil
(Table 4).
The instructions for handling Inerteen insulating fluid
referenced the ANSI C107.1-1974 for complete informa-
tion on handling and disposal of Askarels. The document
also included a section on “Environmental Considerations”
which stated “It has been shown by several laboratories
that measurable amounts of the PCBs, particularly thoseC016_003_r03.indd 859C016_003_r03.indd 859 11/18/2005 1:12:25 PM11/18/2005 1:12:25 PM