In an effort to identify disposal practices and current trends, SRC more » conducted a literature review and spoke with representatives from a number of utilities, the Environmental Protection Agency, and a leading hazardous waste and PCB incinerator. Utilities and their commercial and industrial customers involved in replacing older lighting systems with more efficient alternatives should be aware of local regulations regarding disposal as well as options for disposal. This sudden renewed interest has been spurred by a number of factors, including the growing popularity of the EPA's Green Lights Program, the growth and change of state regulations, and utility DSM programs. The subject of polychlorinated biphenyl-(PCB) containing light ballast and mercury containing fluorescent lamp disposal has recently been generating significant interest among energy and environmental professionals. Of course, these complications and their associated costs affect the economics of DSM lighting retrofit programs. The process of removing existing low-efficiency ballasts as part of DSM program is complicated by a variety of special handling, labeling, transportation, and disposal requirements and options. Federal regulations banning PCB production also require the cleanup and disposal of existing PCB materials. The more » result is that large quantities of such ballasts are being discarded at a rate greater than if disposal were the result of ballast burnout of failure alone. What's more, the growth of electric utility DSM programs over the past decade has accelerated the replacement of ballasts containing PCBs. With the typical life of a lighting system ballast ranging between 10 to 25 years, many PCB-containing ballasts are ready for replacement.
Because PCBs were found to be toxic, federal regulations banned their use in manufacturing after 1979. That's because ballast made before 1979 used polychlorinated biphenyls-better know as PCBs-as dielectric fluids in their capacitors. Utilities that promote lighting retrofit programs as part of a demand-side management (DSM) program any run into trouble disposing of lighting system ballasts. OSTI Identifier: 6048528 Resource Type: Journal Article Journal Name: Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment (United States) Additional Journal Information: Journal Volume: 13:1 Journal ID: ISSN 1048-5236 Country of Publication: United States Language: English Subject: 32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY LIGHTING SYSTEMS RETROFITTING POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS RECYCLING BALLASTS ENERGY CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS REGULATIONS WASTE DISPOSAL AROMATICS CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS ENERGY SYSTEMS HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS MANAGEMENT ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS WASTE MANAGEMENT 320106* - Energy Conservation, Consumption, & Utilization- Building Equipment- (1987-) 320305 - Energy Conservation, Consumption, & Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Industrial Waste Management 291000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Conservation FulCircle Ballast Recyclers, Cambridge, MA (United States).
0 kommentar(er)
