Safety First: Columbia Pipeline Group Removes PCBs From Compressor Stations

摘要

Removing polychlorinated biphenyls - commonly known as PCBs -from existing facilities is no easy task, so just imagine the added challenge of removing PCBs from active compressor stations that deliver natural gas to hundreds of communities in five states. Columbia Pipeline Group is facing just this challenge as it remediates 36 operating stations by 2014. During a review process by the company, Columbia discovered that air compressors, which historically used PCB-containing synthetic oils within a "closed-loop system," were emitting molecular-sized PCBs inside the facilities every time they were used. Many of the PCBs were absorbed by paint found on engines, walls, floors and pipes.