---

EPA: Three Major Auto Companies Agree to Eliminate PCB's

27 January 2000

EPA: Three Major Auto Companies Agree to Eliminate PCB's

    CHICAGO, Jan. 26 -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Region 5 is commending the three major Midwest auto companies --
DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors -- for their efforts to eliminate
PCB's from the environment.
    As part of the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy, EPA challenged the
companies to voluntarily reduce PCB's in electrical equipment by 90 percent,
by 2006.  The companies were also asked to properly manage and dispose of
PCB's, to prevent accidental releases into the Great Lakes Basin.
    PCB's are a group of toxic chemicals, once used in industry as coolants
and lubricants.  EPA banned the manufacture of PCB's in 1979, because of
evidence they accumulate in the environment and present health hazards for
humans, fish, and wildlife.
    James Lyijynen, vice president of stationary environmental affairs and
energy for DaimlerChrysler, applauded EPA for its plan to develop partnerships
with industry through a voluntary PCB elimination program.
    DaimlerChrysler (formerly called Chrysler) started a $43 million program
to eliminate all PCB electrical equipment from its facilities in 1989.  The
proactive program addressed more than 500 PCB transformers and 10,000 PCB
capacitors.  DaimlerChrysler is currently reporting a 100 percent reduction in
PCB transformers and a 99 percent reduction in PCB capacitors, and is now
focused on eliminating the few capacitors that remain in service.  "Our
success was possible because we recognized that there is both a significant
business and environmental value to eliminating PCB's from our facilities,"
said Lyijynen.
    In 1996, General Motors began its formal program to eliminate all
high-level PCB transformers in the United States and Canada by 2000.  The
company reports spending $28 million so far to remove and properly dispose of
some 298 transformers -- containing more than 3 million lbs. of PCB's.  GM
will meet its goal this year by replacing its remaining 400 transformers.
    Dennis Minano, vice president of environment and energy for GM said, "In
addition to minimizing environmental risk, our voluntary transformer
replacement program has resulted in the added business benefit of reducing
energy consumption and costs."
    Ford Motor Co. created a PCB phasedown program in 1995 to eliminate all
PCB containing equipment globally by 2010.  It projects that 95 percent of all
PCB equipment in their facilities worldwide will be removed and properly
disposed of by 2006.
    In April 1997, the U.S.-Canada Binational Toxics Strategy for the Virtual
Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes Basin was signed
by EPA Administrator Carol Browner and Canadian Minister of Environment Sergio
Marchi.  The strategy challenges industry, government, and the public to
explore innovative, voluntary ways to reduce certain persistent toxic
chemicals, including PCB's from the Great Lakes Basin.
    "Progress has been made in reducing PCB's from the environment," said
Francis X. Lyons, administrator of EPA Region 5.  "However, they still exist
at levels that adversely affect fish and other wildlife in the Great Lakes
Basin.  They are still responsible for fish consumption advisories, are one of
the dominant causes of toxicity in wildlife, and are still a human health
concern."
    In addition to the auto industry, EPA has worked with other industry --
steel producers and utilities -- to reduce PCB's in the Great Lakes Basin.
Those partnerships have resulted in:
    -- The five major steel producers in Northwest Indiana have voluntarily
       reduced the PCB's in their facilities by 63 percent.
    -- 12 of the major utilities in the Great Lakes Basin have already removed
       90 percent of the PCB's they had in service in 1978, and are continuing
       to remove them.  Several utilities have already removed 100 percent of
       high-level PCB's.

    "Based on significant voluntary reductions by industry and vigilant
regulation at storage and disposal facilities, we expect to reach our goal of
a 90 percent reduction in PCB-containing electrical equipment before the 2006
deadline," said Lyons.  1998 PCB registration shows there are 18,714
transformers currently in use in the United States, 5,569 of them in EPA
Region 5.