The city of Madison has created three 24-hour waste oil recycling sites for motor oil and automatic transmission fluid and safely prevent polychlorinated biphenyl contamination.
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were banned in the United States in 1979 due to damaging effects on human health and the environment, according to a statement made by Madison Operations staff member Andy Solberg. Solberg said PCBs produced prior to the ban are still present in the community and contamination with the oil recycling sites are costly and dangerous.
A recycling site, located on Speedway Road, closed in January 2013 due to contamination from PCB-tainted oil, according to Solberg.
“Even the smallest quantity of PCB-contaminated oil generates a costly cleanup for Madison taxpayers,” City Engineer Rob Phillips said in the statement. The cost to clean a PCB-contaminated tank costs around $15,000 according to Solberg.
Since the sites are open 24 hours a day and unattended, the city has upgraded the sites with new tanks featuring two separate compartments for precautions. The improved sites allow for city officials to test the first compartment for PCBs while allowing the second to remain open for further recycling.
Use of the sites by commercial contractors is prohibited, and the dumping of PCB-tainted oil can result in a fine up to $25,000 and potentially up to a year in prison. According to Solberg, this is due to the links between PCBs and cancer, along with negative health effects relating to the immune, reproductive and nervous systems of humans and animal.
