Abstract
The volatilization of PCB from the PCB-containing ballast built into the fluorescent lamp was investigated. Although PCBs were not detected in the indoor air of the laboratory in Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology without PCB-containing ballasts, 26-110 ng/m3 of PCBs were observed in the office of Japan Offspring Fund (JOF) where the fluorescent lamps with PCB-containing ballasts had been used. Analysis of emission gas from the PCB-containing ballast taken from the fluorescence lamp in the JOF's office showed that the PCB volatilization rates from the PCB-containing ballast were temperature-dependent and that the PCB composition of the emission gas was similar to that observed in JOF's office. It is noted that the observed PCB concentrations in JOF's office were within the range of predicted PCB concentrations in the indoor air of JOF's office using the observed PCB volatilization rates from the PCB-containing ballast. These results suggest that PCBs volatized from the PCB-containing ballasts cause the PCB-contaminated indoor air.
