PCBs in Icicle Hatchery?

[catbirdseat]

I heard a brief story on the radio. I believe the station was KPLU. It said that PCBs were found in the paint used at the Icicle Creek Hatchery. There is concern about leaching of the PCBs into the water and possible uptake by the fish. I have no idea how PCBs would get into the paint.

 

Can anyone find more on this story?

[willstrickland]

You know the "common" source of PCB contaminants were from old transformers. But, there were also some oils used that had PCB contamination.

 

In the last few years, certain sealants and caulks have (generally used prior to 1977 when PCB ban started) have been shown to contain up to 600x the EPA limits for PCBs.

 

Here's something I had in my notes from a couple of years ago (sorry, don't have the study citation handy, this is from a study done on caulking in the northeast somewhere):

 

"This caulking contained PCBs as plasticizers in two-part polysulfide polymer systems. The ATSDR identified the specific PCB compound Aroclor 1254 as an ingredient in caulking and sealing compounds. Aroclor 1254 is the trade name for a mixture of chlorinated biphenyls with average chlorine content of 54%. Its composition is reported to be approximately 59-71% (by weight) pentachlorobiphenyl, 22-27% hexachlorobiphenyl, and 5-10% tetrachlorobiphenyl (ATSDR 2000). "

 

 

So perhaps it's the caulking, not the paint that is the issue. 33,000ppm concentrations in some of those caulks (EPA std is 50ppm!)

 

Biggest problem with fish uptake is in longer lived scavenger type species. Carp are a common example.

[catbirdseat]

Will that scenario sounds quite plausible. We used to use polysulfide sealants on our boat because it remains pliable for long periods of time. Hopefully, they had removed the PCBs by that time (the 1980's).