Some new environmental legislation will be a boon to Trans-Cycle Industries (TCI) in Kirkland Lake. The first draft of federal regulations to phase out PCB materials in use and in storage will come at the end of the year, says Dan McCormack, TCI’s environmental consultant for regulatory affairs.
The 32-employee plant has been operating environmentally safe disposal of high-level PCB transformers, capacitors and other PCB equipment since 1998. Although the company has two other plants in the United States, the Kirkland Lake facility is the newest and singular to Canada.
As there are no federal regulations for the disposal of PCBs, only safe storage regulations, much of TCI’s work has come from companies who have
voluntarily disposed of their PCB material. It explains why many storage sites are evident in sensitive areas such as hospitals and schools.
Soon all of that will change. New regulations will require companies and generators to safely dispose of equipment in service or in storage that is
contaminated with PCBs over 500 parts per million by December 31, 2009, McCormack says.
Pole-top transformers and light ballasts have a reprieve until a later date, which has yet to be announced.
The new regulations are due to signatory international treaties, such as The Stockholm Agreement, as well as public pressure, McCormack says.
“TCI can handle the waste,” he says, but he questions whether or not equipment manufacturers can keep up with the demand to replace old equipment.
“It’s not a good thing to have this waste sitting in storage.”
Plant manager Don Dekker concurs with the need to remove the hazardous waste.
“Get the PCBs out of the market,” Dekker says. “We’ll clean them up.”
Although transformers built after 1977 no longer have PCB oils in them, there is still a significant amount of contaminated equipment across the country. Unfortunately, no definite numbers exist as to the amount of hazardous waste.
“Even with a national inventory,” Dekker says, “it is not absolute, because up to this point, disposal has been voluntary.”
PCB contaminated oil has a specific gravity of 1.6 percent, making it heavier than water, says Dekker. Its characteristics make it a good insulating oil, because it has a high flash point, and is difficult to burn.
Should the oil catch fire, it is a carcinogen and the fumes are highly toxic.
Ninety-nine percent of TCI’s work is on electrical equipment, but they also clean abutments in older bridges that used PCB oil to prevent water erosion.
The government only applies regulations to material that is over 50 ppm; thus anything under 50 ppm is considered low-level and is unregulated. TCI’s criteria for metal leaving the plant is two ppm, Dekker says.
The process is called vapour degreasing and is performed in a completely contained building with raised doorsteps and stainless-steel flooring throughout. All materials are weighed upon entering and exiting the building. When transformers enter the plant, the equipment is stripped, the metals sorted, sheared, cleaned and tested for PCBs. All steel batches are recorded on a database in the lab. A sample that does not pass TCI’s stringent criteria (two ppm) is returned and the entire batch is rewashed, marked and recorded.
Clean metals such as steel, brass, copper and aluminum are delivered to foundries, not scrap yards.
“We don’t want our metals mixed with dirty metals en route,” Dekker says.
The PCB oil taken from the unit (degreaser) is distilled and placed in United Nations-certified drums. Those drums are sent to Swan Hills Treatment Centre in Alberta for incineration with TCI’s own transportation or a bonded carrier.
Dekker says revenues have been improving, but new regulations could double their sales. From 1999 to June 2005, the company has received and processed 9,794,111 kilograms of steel.
Recent initiatives the plant has implemented is an under 50 ppm section to treat low-level transformers. They have also increased their on-site services.
A Continuous Thermal Desorption Unit (CTDU), which was originally to be set up at the plant, has now been modified to become a mobile unit. Having recently received approval from the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program—a joint Environment Canada - Industry Canada initiative delivered by ETV Canada Inc.— Dekker says it can be used on a temporary permit basis to clean up large contaminated areas and/or spills where it is easier to treat the area. It also eliminates the costly need transport contaminated soil.
The unit destroys PCBs with heat, which drives off the volatiles and then runs them through a process, Dekker says.
He believes it makes more sense to have the unit mobile, because once the soil is clean, it can be returned without any backfill.
Whether material is brought in to the Kirkland Lake plant or the CTDU goes out to the site, TCI’s unique service will be available when the PCB regulatory framework is enacted.
