88 The Next Hundred Years What are PCBs? PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), a group of manmade chemicals, were widely used from 1950 to 1978 in building materials such as caulk, oil-based paint, foor fnishes, plastic, fuorescent lighting ballasts, transformers, capacitors, and hydraulic oil. These chemicals break down very slowly and pose a health hazard in concentrations of 50 parts per million (ppm) or higher. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation requires any material with contamination above 50 ppm to be removed and properly disposed of. The KBHE team of experienced professionals handles PCBs in accordance with DEC policy. 10,000-gallon oil spill KBHE's breakthrough project occurred in 2010 when a large oil plume was reported in Lake Ontario. RG&E hired KBHE to fnd the source of the leak. After searching all day, John found the source at an electric-generating station over a mile away. A ladder was leaning against a giant transformer—left behind after thieves climbed inside to steal thousands of dollars’ worth of oil-insulated copper wire. The thieves purposely released over 10,000 gallons of oil into a tributary creek that fowed into the lake. John and his crew spent the entire summer cleaning up the spill. This project generated enough revenue to pay of the loan that fnanced the startup of the business. Pleased with our work, the customer took the whole crew to lunch when it was fnished. Through this frst large job, we forged a good working relationship with RG&E that continues to grow. Today, the phones never stop ringing. Bundling our specialties The value of bundling our diverse range of specialties for the customer’s beneft can be seen on many projects. An outstanding example is the 2023 Circuit 901 project. This undertaking was the decommissioning of a 10-inch, oil-flled pipe with 115 kV electric cable that ran approximately 5 miles from Station 23 in downtown Rochester to Station 33 near the University of Rochester. Both the cable and the oil had to be removed from the pipe and replaced with a lightweight cementitious material. A steel pipe bridge that ran over Interstate 490 also had to be removed in its entirety. Over 12,000 gallons of oil had previously leaked, most of it ending up in an old Monroe County sewer and in several manholes. KBHE used a vacuum truck and thousands of oil-absorbent pads to clean up the spill. Several roads had to be excavated to remove the cable. The cable had to be drained, cleaned, wound up on a cable reel, wrapped, and transported to the disposal facility. Ten manholes had to be hammered out and backflled, and the roads had to be repaved. The project was completed successfully by capitalizing on the synergy of the Subway, Environmental, and Industrial Electric Divisions, as well as a couple of specialty subcontractors under our management, to provide a one-stop solution for the customer. Countering contamination KBHE was hired in 2021 to investigate multiple complaints of an unpleasant odor at a location in Western New York. Leaking barrels of pure PCB oil were found to be the source of the smell. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) tested the oil to determine the level of contamination, and the results were shocking: 10,000 parts per million (ppm)—a level unheard of, the DEC ofcer said. (He suspected it was even higher, but 10,000 ppm is as high as the measurement can go.) The oil had penetrated 10 feet into the ground. This meant KBHE employees had to wear PPE (personal protective equipment) at every stage of the cleanup process, including the excavation, which took 20 days to complete. KBHE, Industrial Electric, and Subway Divisions working together to remove existing cable from former oil-flled line on Exchange Boulevard
