The Meriden Enterprise Center, a more than 400,000-square-foot facility with industrial and office tenants, has agreed to pay a $52,500 fine after state inspectors found toxic substances leaking from an outdoor transformer, the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.
Inspectors found that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were leaking from the transformer. PCBs are suspected carcinogens that can cause reproductive disorders, liver disease and neurological problems, according to DEEP.
DEEP ordered the leaking transformer and seven others inside the facility removed and the soil remediated. They hadn’t been used in several years because the center had replaced them with a more modern transformer that doesn’t contain PCBs, the agency said.
The state inspects PCB-containing equipment on a quarterly basis. PCB manufacturing is no longer allowed, but existing equipment containing the chemicals can be used.
