PCB Transformer Fire – Binghamton, New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Haughie GF ; Rothenberg R ; Schecter AJ
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  At 5:30 AM on February 5, 1981, a fire occurred in the basement utility room of the State Office Building in Binghamton, New York. An intensely hot, local electrical fire in the switch gear adjacent to a transformer containing 1,060 gallons of askarel (a type of transformer fluid) caused the transformer bushings to crack, resulting in the spill of 180 gallons of fluid. An estimated 90 gallons of askarel was pyrolyzed and spread throughout the 18-story structure as a fine, oily soot. The most probable path for the soot to have reached all floors of the building was through 2 vertical shafts that extended the entire height of the building and were open at the bottom to the utility room, where the transformer and switch gear were located. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Fires Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Pyrolysis Safety
• Keywords:
  2,3,7,8-Tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin Chemical Hazards Chlorinated Benzenes Clean-up Hazards Dioxin Electrical Equipment Electrical Hazards Fire Fighting Fluids Machinery PCBs Polychlorinated Biphenyls Pyrolysis Products Spill Cleanup TCDD

  More +
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  16
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055418
• Citation:
  MMWR 1981 May; 30(16):187-188,193
• CAS Registry Number:
  1,1′-Biphenyl, chloro derivs. (CAS RN 1336-36-3) ; 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran (CAS RN 51207-31-9) ; 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (CAS RN 1746-01-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6c23ad2c9233f7202a16eb1b993d1e5b3f80d435ddbbc0ef094579d4e0797a55aadd938050d7b8c2bbbd8f733c315f9596e95eae8dc067d1fb9dc6d95d265c88
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/183247/cdc_183247_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 336.31 KB ]