RE: PCBs in Natural Gas Lines

["Campbell, Jon" <Campbell@Rational.Com>]

Hi, Dan,

     It is an issue for any gas line, since the entire system is
contaminated. Any new line is going to need to be connected to an existing
source, which is contaminated. As mentioned before, the gas utilities and
the EPA don't want to talk about it...

Jon

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Kusnierz [mailto:pinwater@mint.net]
Sent: Friday, June 11, 1999 12:04 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list DIOXIN-L
Subject: Re: PCBs in Natural Gas Lines


In regards to the info about PCBs in natural gas lines...Does anyone know if
this
would be an issue with new natural gas lines (new natural gas pipelines are
being
constructed in Maine this summer) and systems or is it only an issue for
older,
existing lines?



Rebecca Leighton Katers wrote:

> I have to respond to this discussion, because I
> attended a horrible EPA conference in Chicago  a
> few months ago where the subject of PCBs in
> natural gas came up.
>
> It was a presentation of EPA staff concerning the
> new PCB Mega Rule --- to an audience of several
> hundred mostly industry representatives.
>
> The fact is that natural gas pipelines are now
> regulated under the PCB rule because many of them
> ARE contaminated with PCBs, due to leaking of PCB
> oil used in the compressor pumps which push the
> gas through the pipeline.
>
> All along the gas lines --- from the original
> wells to our homes and industries --- are
> condensate traps where sampling often finds PCB
> in high levels.   (Between 50 and 500 ppm)
>
> EPA officials at this conference confirmed this
> was happening, though when I started to ask
> questions the industry guys in the audience
> immediately tried to assure me (excessively) that
> it was nothing to worry about.   They made me
> suspicious immediately.
>
> When I pressed, the EPA officials
> admitted there had been incidents in Atlanta,
> Georgia and on Long Island (or Manhattan?) where
> extremely high PCB levels were found.   They
> couldn't discount that the problems could be more
> widespread --- but the EPA guys were so
> pro-industry in their presentations that they
> kept saying things lke, "It's not an enforcement
> priority.  We'd rather not know about it."  (This
> got lots of laughs from the industry lobbyists.)
>
> It was said that a utility called Atlanta Gas
> & Light was replacing 250 miles of natural gas
> pipeline per year because of PCB contamination.
>
> EPA officials also admitted that PCB contaminated
> condensate has been found in condensate in
> home gas meters, which means that the PCBs are
> reaching into our homes --- through kitchen gas
> ranges, gas water heaters, gas clothes dryers,
> and natural gas home furnaces --- which means we
> have millions of mini-PCB-incinerators in
> neighborhoods throughout our country.
>
> Wonderful, isn't it?    It's too bad the
> industry guys can never be trusted to give an
> honest response to issues like this.
>
> > Date:          Sat, 5 Jun 1999 16:14:33 -0400
> > Reply-to:      bodo@interlog.com
> > From:          Byron Bodo <bodo@interlog.com>
> > To:            Multiple recipients of list DIOXIN-L
<dioxin-l@essential.org>
> > Subject:       Re: paper industry query
>
> > At 11:55 AM 6/5/99 -0400, Jon Campbell wrote:
> > >Hello,
> > >
> > >      I'm sorry I missed this message and hope this is not duplicate
> > >information.
> >
> > Unlikely given the false claims make below:
> >
> > >Natural gas burning power plants create a
> > >tremendous amount of particulate (PM10, PM2.5) pollution, and trace
amounts
> > >of PCBs that contaminate the nation's gas pipelines, when burned, form
> > >dioxins and furans.
> >
> > Nonsense.  Burning natural gas produces CO2 & some water vapor.
> > My gas stove & furnace produce zero particulates.  The chief complaint
> > about gas fired electrical generating stations is release of greenhouse
> > gases.
> >
> > Gas pipelines & mains are welded steel.  There are no PCBs,
> > no PCDD/Fs.  Some regulator/compressor/valve stations built back in
> > the 60s & early 70s may have used some PCB containing materials
> > [sealants, paints], but the release of PCBs into the gas stream would
> > be nil for  practical purposes.
> >
> > -bb
> >
> >
> Rebecca Leighton Katers
> Clean Water Action Council of N.E. Wisconsin
> East Port Center
> 1270 Main Street, Suite 120
> Green Bay, WI 54302
> Phone:  920-437-7304
> Fax:  920-437-7326
> E-mail:  cwac@execpc.com