Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(1981)
In February of 1981, an electrical transformer fire broke out in the basement of the 18
story State Office Building in Binghamton, New York. The fire started at 5:30 a.m.
and lasted for a total of only about 30 minutes. The result, however, was one of the
worst cases of chemical contamination of a building in US history. This incident is
sometimes referred to as the first “indoor environmental disaster.”
A fault in the 480 V secondary switch gear in the basement mechanical room
of the office building was blamed for starting the fire. The intense heat that was
generated by the fire cracked a bushing on a nearby askeral filled transformer. About
180 gallons of this insulating fluid, known to contain PCBs (polychlorinated
biphenyls) escaped from the transformer which in turn vaporized and mixed with
smoke and soot from the fire. When the fire alarm was triggered, hatches in the roof
above the stairwells automatically opened. When the firefighters arrived and opened
the door to the mechanical room, the contaminated smoke and soot was drawn up the
stairwells in a chimney-like effect spreading the toxic contaminants to the ventilation
systems which in turn dispersed toxic soot containing PCBs, dioxin and
dibenzofurans (furnans) throughout the building.
The immediate problems of the fire were compounded by misunderstandings
relative to the severity of the contamination and mismanagement of the overall
cleanup process. The building had been constructed in 1972 at a cost of $17 million,
but the cleanup took nearly 14 years and cost $53 million. The disaster also spawned
a legal process that lasted over 20 years. Litigation ended in 2004 with a $7.2 million
settlement between the various claimants and the two companies who manufactured
the electrical equipment and transformer coolant respectively.
A similar fire related incident occurred in December of 1991 at the State
University of New York at New Paltz, contaminating several buildings and resulting
in a first phase clean-up operation that lasted over three years. In June of 1985, a
transformer located in the basement of the New Mexico State Highway Department
overheated and released an oily mist containing PCBs in an askarel fluid which
extensively contaminated the three-story building, partially compounded by a clean-
up effort that took place before the PCB contamination was identified.
Lessons Learned
PCBs, such a those contained in older transformers, are considered to be toxic
substances that may result in serious health concerns. It has been found that when
burned, PCBs generate by-products which include polychlorinated dibenzobioxin
(Dioxin) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans that are even more toxic than the PCBs
themselves. Transformers containing PCBs were manufactured between the years
1929 and 1977 and were subsequently banned for use in manufacturing transformers
and some other electrical devices. The EPA now regulates the use, location, storage
and disposal of transformers containing PCBs.
