Little Ado About Very Much: EPA Reinterprets Its PCB Guidance

On Tuesday, EPA issued its "reinterpretation" of its understanding of what building wastes constitute "PCB bulk product waste" under TSCA regulations, as opposed to "PCB remediation waste." Previously, when PCBs migrated from building products, such as caulk, the caulk would be considered PCB bulk product waste, while the underlying contaminated building material would be considered PCB remediation waste. Now the building material will also be considered PCB bulk product waste. Indeed, EPA has slightly expanded the reinterpretation from its draft proposal; it now allows the building substrate to be characterized as PCB bulk product waste, even if, after the designation, it becomes separated from the original building product containing the PCBs.