Page History

Title:

PCB Management

Publication date:

9/14/2021

Effective date:

4/29/2013

Title:

PCB Management

Publication date:

9/14/2021

Effective date:

4/29/2013

Role

Responsibilities

Principal Investigators and Supervisors

• Ensure that environmental laws, regulations, and policies are followed.
• Request assistance from the Environmental Services Group within the EHS Division for technical advice on what environmental requirements apply to their operations and what would be an appropriate compliance strategy.
• Provide training for employees in operational requirements pertaining to environmental protection, and maintain records of such training (e.g., generator training).
• Ensure that activities are performed within acceptable operating standards and that any required records (e.g., training records) are current.
• Notify the EHS Division immediately of any unplanned or accidental releases.
• Contact the Waste Management Group within the EHS Division in the early planning stages before PCB-contaminated oil-filled electrical equipment is disconnected for disposal.

Employees

• Follow applicable environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
• Must be fully aware of the environmental impact of their activities, and comply with all requirements that govern those activities.
• Perform activities within acceptable operating standards, and maintain current records whenever required.
• Take immediate action to stop unplanned releases to the environment, and report all instances of unplanned environmental releases to the EHS Division.
• Complete all required training (e.g., generator training) provided by supervisors and the EHS Division.

Environmental Services Group

• Develops Laboratory policies and procedures to ensure that operations are conducted in an environmentally safe manner and in full compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and DOE orders.
• Assesses current and planned Berkeley Lab programs, and assists in defining environmental protection compliance upgrades and corrective actions.
• Participates in discussions regarding PCB management matters with Berkeley Lab employees and regulatory agencies.
• Curtails or suspends any operations that pose an immediate danger to members of the public or the environment.
• Monitors laboratory discharges to the sanitary sewer to verify compliance with applicable regulations and East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) permits.
• Investigates reports of unplanned environmental releases, and notifies federal, state, and local authorities in a timely manner, as required.

Waste Management Group

• Picks up and disposes of PCB waste from Laboratory generators.
• Establishes, as needed, a Satellite Accumulation Area or Waste Accumulation Area for PCB-contaminated oil-filled electrical equipment destined for disposal.

Term

Definition

Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)

The department within the California Environmental Protection Agency that regulates hazardous waste management, including PCB waste, and remedial actions

East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)

The local municipal wastewater treatment facility that accepts and regulates sanitary-sewer discharges from Berkeley Lab

Effluent

Any treated or untreated liquid discharge from Berkeley Lab or from a Berkeley Lab facility

Environmental monitoring

The collection and analysis of sanitary-sewer samples for the analysis of PCB congeners for determining compliance with EBMUD permits

Environmental occurrence

Any sudden or sustained deviation from a regulated or planned performance at an operation with environmental protection and compliance significance

Hazardous wastes

Wastes exhibiting any of the following characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. In addition, EPA has listed specific wastes as hazardous that do not necessarily exhibit these characteristics.

Large capacitor

A capacitor that contains more than 3 pounds or 30 liquid ounces of dielectric fluid

Pollution prevention

Reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of nontoxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and reusing materials rather than putting them into the waste stream

Public Owned Treatment Works (POTW)

A general term used for sewage-treatment plants. The East Bay Municipal Utility District plant is the POTW that accepts sewage from Berkeley Lab. The EBMUD permit sets a discharge limit for PCB congeners.

San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board

The agency responsible for regulating the water quality in the San Francisco basin and setting discharge limits for POTWs, including the limit for PCB congeners

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

A federal agency responsible for enforcing environmental laws. In California, some of this responsibility is typically delegated to state and local regulatory agencies.

Waste minimization

Per the U.S. EPA, measures that reduce the volume and toxicity of hazardous waste disposed to landfills. California defines "waste minimization" as measures that reduce, eliminate, or recycle hazardous waste at the point in a process where such waste may be generated.

Document number

Title

Type

07.09.013.001

Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Management

Program

07.09.013.002

Work Process A, General Requirements

Process

07.10.002.001

Waste Management

Program

07.09.012.001

Contaminated Soil and Groundwater

Program

07.09.007.001

Stormwater Discharge

Program

Date

Revision

By Whom

Revision Description

Section(s) Affected

Change Type

11/27/2012

0

R. Pauer

Rewrite for wiki (brief)

All

Minor

5/14/2013

1

R. Fox

Rewrite for wiki (policy)

All

Minor

9/1/2021

1.1

J. Buehler

Periodic review

All

Minor

Title:

PCB Management

Document number

07.09.013.000

Revision number

1.1

Publication date:

9/14/2021

Effective date:

4/29/2013

Next review date:

9/14/2026

Policy Area:

Environmental Protection Program

RPM Section (home)

ESH

RPM Section (cross-reference)

None

Functional Division

EHS

Prior reference information (optional)

ES&H Manual Section 11.3.10 moved to Chapter 63

Document number

Title

Type

07.09.013.001

Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Management

Program

07.09.013.002

Work Process A, General Requirements

Process

07.10.002.001

Waste Management

Program

07.09.012.001

Contaminated Soil and Groundwater

Program

07.09.007.001

Stormwater Discharge

Program