SAN FRANCISCO -- Smoke from a PCB-laced fire in a San Francisco highrise tower contaminated 40 firemen and possibly dozens of other people, officials said.
The fire Sunday forced the evacuation of two towers at One Market Plaza and the smaller, 28-story tower will remain closed until at least Wednesday, officials said Monday.
The contamination occurred when a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power line snappedand sliced open a transformer filled with 50 gallons of PCB-laced oil shortly after 11 a.m.
Mayor Dianne Feinstein demanded Monday PG&E announce when all toxic PCB will be removed from San Francisco. 'It is clear because of the earthquake propensity of the city the PCB problem is emerging as an increasingly dangerous one,' she said.
About 1,200 Del Monte Corp. employees, were off the job because of the contamination, but a company spokesman said they will be paid. The firm's world headquarters is in the 28-story tower.
San Francisco Hazardous Materials Manager Dr. Richard Wade said potentially hazardous PCB concentrations were found in oily residue from the explosion and fire inside the 24-foot deep PG&E transformer vault, on sidewalks, in the basement and on the side of the tower.
Cleanup crews put a tarp over the sidewalk to prevent PCB they were removing from contaminating the area.
Wade said there was no precise estimate of how many people were contaminated by the smoke but it was possible that dozens of people could have been affected. He said at least eight people have reported suffering eye irritaion and headaches after being near the fire.
Wade said first reports of contamination tests showed there were PCB concentrations of 300,000 parts per million on the protective suits worn by IT Corp. workers who went into the transformer vault. He said the tests indicated 2,100 parts per million on the sidewalk grating above the vault.
PG&E and Wade disagreed on the level of PCB considered hazardous with the utility saying 50 parts per million and Wade contending that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers seven parts per million a potential threat.
Wade said, 'As far as I am concerned there is no such thing as a safe level of PCB.'
Congress banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979 after the chemical was shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals and was believed to cause sterlity, liver, skin and brain damage in people.
