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University of Pittsburgh Settles Environmental Complaint

Release Date: 9/9/2002
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543

Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has settled its complaint against the University of Pittsburgh for alleged violations of toxic substance regulations – specifically polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) regulations. The university has agreed to pay a penalty of $8,981 to settle the matter.

At the time of the violations, eight PCB transformers and twelve PCB capacitors were used by the university in six different buildings at its main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The complaint alleged that the university did not timely register its PCB transformers with the national PCB transformer database.

In addition, EPA’s inspection found that a door to a PCB transformer vault in Victoria Hall did not have the required PCB labeling. The university has now corrected the violations and removed the PCB transformers from the campus.

PCBs are mixtures of synthetic organic chemicals. Due to their non-flammability, chemical stability, high boiling point and electrical insulating properties, PCBs were used nationwide in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications including electrical, heat transfer, and hydraulic equipment, plasticizers in paints, and plastics and rubber products.

Concern over the toxicity and persistence in the environment of PCBs led Congress in 1976 to enact the Toxic Substances Control Act, which prohibits the manufacture, processing, and distribution of PCBs.

As a part of the settlement, the university neither admitted or denied the alleged violations.