DOD WANTS WEAKER PCB RULES

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

DEFENSE WANTS WEAKER PCB RULES

The Defense Department Environmental Security office has asked US EPA 
to weaken proposed rules governing the management and disposal of 
materials containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are 
persistent, bioaccumulative carcinogens commonly found in old 
electrical transformer oil, paints, adhesives, insulators, and 
ship/submarine hulls.

Defense believes that "cost and practicality" should be considered in 
the rule, and it argues that its PCB management costs would soar into 
the billions of dollars if EPA's original proposal is not changed. The 
Navy estimates, for example, that it would cost more than $1 billion in 
the first year to implement the proposed rule on ships alone.

Source: Excerpts from a Defense Environmental Information Network and 
Exchange press release printed in the Army Environmental Center's 
ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE, October, 1995.