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ENLARGE
The Churchill County School District will test the substance from a second leaking light ballast through a Sparks laboratory after an earlier sample got lost en route to Virginia.
Jim Sustacha, director of finance, said Alpha Analytical is sending a kit to collect a sample of material that leaked from a fluorescent light fixture at Northside Elementary School to determine if the spill contains PCBs, a hazardous chemical used in light fixtures before they were outlawed in 1979.
An sample sent to a Virginia laboratory for testing June 26 was lost by FedEx, he said. It was tracked to Tennessee but its current location is unknown.
He said he also contacted Advanced Transformer Co. in Rosemont, Ill., seeking information on the model number of a suspicious ballast that leaked at Northside. The company manufactured the light, he added.
"The potting material does not contain PCB. Inside the ballast is a a capacitor where there is PCBs," Sustacha said.
Jim Sustacha, director of finance, said Alpha Analytical is sending a kit to collect a sample of material that leaked from a fluorescent light fixture at Northside Elementary School to determine if the spill contains PCBs, a hazardous chemical used in light fixtures before they were outlawed in 1979.
An sample sent to a Virginia laboratory for testing June 26 was lost by FedEx, he said. It was tracked to Tennessee but its current location is unknown.
He said he also contacted Advanced Transformer Co. in Rosemont, Ill., seeking information on the model number of a suspicious ballast that leaked at Northside. The company manufactured the light, he added.
"The potting material does not contain PCB. Inside the ballast is a a capacitor where there is PCBs," Sustacha said.
He admitted there is no way to determine if capacitors containing the cancer-causing chemical have leaked over the years. Also, there is more than one model of old lighting ballasts still in use in older Fallon schools.
Sustacha would not allow the Lahontan Valley News to examine suspicious light fixtures removed from schools, saying they are bagged in an absorbent material and locked in a barrel for proper disposal.
Before 1979, polychlorinated biphenyls were used in fluorescent light fixtures because the chemical remains stable for long periods of time, taking decades to degrade. It kept the components cool and lengthened the life of the fixtures.
PCB was used in capacitors, and often in the potting material in the ballast. As long as PCB remains in the ballast, it poses no health risk.
As the equipment ages, the ballast can heat up and leak, creating health risks to those exposed to the chemical, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
"The hazard can be worsened by mishandling the incident," states an EPA report titled, "Removing PCBs from Light Fixtures: Protecting Students from Hidden Dangers."
Sustacha would not allow the Lahontan Valley News to examine suspicious light fixtures removed from schools, saying they are bagged in an absorbent material and locked in a barrel for proper disposal.
Before 1979, polychlorinated biphenyls were used in fluorescent light fixtures because the chemical remains stable for long periods of time, taking decades to degrade. It kept the components cool and lengthened the life of the fixtures.
PCB was used in capacitors, and often in the potting material in the ballast. As long as PCB remains in the ballast, it poses no health risk.
As the equipment ages, the ballast can heat up and leak, creating health risks to those exposed to the chemical, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
"The hazard can be worsened by mishandling the incident," states an EPA report titled, "Removing PCBs from Light Fixtures: Protecting Students from Hidden Dangers."
In Churchill County, school custodians were not advised until Thursday about the proper clean-up of leaking light ballasts. One custodian said he has wiped up a tar-like substance that dripped from light fixtures seven or eight time over the years without knowing the substance might cause serious health problems.
The district also has no record of proper disposal of leaking ballasts as required by state and federal law. Sustacha said last week he was unable to find records to indicate the leaking ballasts were handled by a licensed hazardous waste firm.
A district electrician estimates there could be up to 1,100 fluorescent light fixtures made before 1979 still in use at Northside, West End Elementary School and Cottage School. Ballasts made after that time are marked, "No PCBs," giving the district a good gauge on which fixtures are pre-1979.
Nine or 10 fixtures being stored at a district warehouse for disposal are not marked, meaning they were made prior to 1979, said electrician Martin Pattengale.
Sustacha said he won't know what substance will sampled or how the process will be handled until he receives direction from Alpha Analytical.
The district also has no record of proper disposal of leaking ballasts as required by state and federal law. Sustacha said last week he was unable to find records to indicate the leaking ballasts were handled by a licensed hazardous waste firm.
A district electrician estimates there could be up to 1,100 fluorescent light fixtures made before 1979 still in use at Northside, West End Elementary School and Cottage School. Ballasts made after that time are marked, "No PCBs," giving the district a good gauge on which fixtures are pre-1979.
Nine or 10 fixtures being stored at a district warehouse for disposal are not marked, meaning they were made prior to 1979, said electrician Martin Pattengale.
Sustacha said he won't know what substance will sampled or how the process will be handled until he receives direction from Alpha Analytical.
"I think I'm going to wipe a ballast," he said Friday. "I believe I'm looking for potting material. If I find potting material and sample it and there are no PCBs in the potting material, the best we can do is determine there are no PCBs."
A lighting contractor surveyed older schools Thursday and will provide an estimate to replace all ballasts manufactured before 1979 before school starts.
"From the school's point, we're doing everything we were asked to do to comply with requests from OSHA and the EPA. We are going to replace ballasts manufactured prior to 1979 that may or does contain PCB," Sustacha said.
Marlene Garcia can be contacted at mgarcia@lahontanvalleynews.com
A lighting contractor surveyed older schools Thursday and will provide an estimate to replace all ballasts manufactured before 1979 before school starts.
"From the school's point, we're doing everything we were asked to do to comply with requests from OSHA and the EPA. We are going to replace ballasts manufactured prior to 1979 that may or does contain PCB," Sustacha said.
Marlene Garcia can be contacted at mgarcia@lahontanvalleynews.com
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