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Coast to Coast Coatings Inc – CASE STUDY 

PCB Encapsulation

Project: Natural Gas Compressor Station

There are more than fifteen thousand miles of natural gas pipelines spanning the US and Canada. The transmission of natural gas is facilitated by a series of compressor stations located along the various pipelines. The majority of lubricants and coolants used in the compressors prior to 1974 contained PCBs.

In 1974 the EPA banned the use of PCBs in lubricants and coolants. The EPA determined that all compressor stations in use prior to the late 1970s contain residual PCBs from the lubricants and oils used before the ban.

After testing and learning that residual PCBs exist at their various facilities, a particular pro-active gas transmission company sought to address the problem to safeguard their employees.

Remediation was not an option, as the concrete trenches could not be removed, nor could the flow of natural gas be interrupted. Encapsulation was the logical alternative, however it had to be a monolithic coating that could withstand temperature swings, vibration impact, and withstand oils, solvents and glycol without breaking down.

Coast to Coast Coatings Inc has expertise in applying industrial coatings. Coupled with their ISNetWorld grade "A" training, meeting NIOSH requirements and DOT training, Peter Bakke was called into action. Bakke authored a plan of action to encapsulate the PCB s that exceeds Federal Environmental Compliance Standards 40 Cfr-76130(p)in safety, longevity and material requirements.

The first step was to prepare the coated concrete substrate of the trenches through a series of environmentally friendly cleaning processes. After which the equipment within the trenches had to be protected for the priming and coating application that would follow. After protecting the equipment, the trench walls, floor and penetrations were coated with 3/16-inch thick

industrial coating. The coating is 100% VOC Free, 100% Solvent Free, 100% Solids, and provides 400% elongation with a 2,000+ PSI

tensile strength. The result is a cost-effective, long-lasting encapsulation of PCBs that exceeds Federal 40 CFR 76130(p) mandates.

Personnel who now enter the trenches to perform work are no longer at risk to being exposed to any level of PCBs contamination. The coating thickness surpasses Federal suggestions, which provides our customer with a long-lasting solution. An added bonus of being 100% VOC and 100% Solvent Free, the coating will still be acceptable long into the future if the EPA changes their view on coatings which are solvent or VOC based.