Press Releases at EMSL

In October, the Hartford Courant published a report about the school board and city of Hartford filing a suit against a former manufacturer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This was the result of the hazardous chemicals being found in a Connecticut elementary school last winter when fire sprinklers were being installed.  

According to the article, PCBs were first discovered in paints. Air testing was conducted that also found the chemicals at levels that were higher than recommended exposure limits for children in school. Additional testing reportedly also found PCBs in caulking materials in the building.  

PCBs are man-made toxic chemicals that persist in the environment and can bioaccumulate in living organisms. PCBs were manufactured in the United States up until the late 1970s when their production was banned due to health and environmental concerns. In the past, PCBs were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications. The chemical compounds were used in such building materials as paints, mastics, sealants, adhesives, caulking, specialty coatings and fluorescent light ballasts. These PCBs can persist in old materials and contaminate surfaces, dust, soils and the indoor air quality (IAQ) of a structure.  

“Students and faculty could be exposed to PCBs in contaminated buildings by directly touching PCB containing materials, hand to mouth contact and by breathing in contaminated air or dust,” said Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President of Marketing at EMSL Analytical, Inc., one of the nation’s leading PCB testing laboratories. “Identifying exposure risks and removing the hazards is essential. At EMSL, we offers air, wipe and bulk material testing services to identify PCBs. These services help to prevent building occupant exposure risks while providing essential information to remediation and renovation contractors so that proper procedures can be implemented to safely remove these toxic chemicals.”

EMSL has released an educational video about PCB testing services that can be seen at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hpV_8JgAlE.  

To learn more about PCB testing in paint, caulk, air, dust or other materials, please visit www.PCBCaulk.com or www.EMSL.com, call (800) 220-3675 or email info@EMSL.com.

EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of environmental, indoor air quality, consumer product and materials testing services and products for professionals and the general public.  The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.