Oh, yeah, the old PCB days. Every time there was a dark mark on the side of a distribution transformer atop a pole, everyone in the neighborhood would get excited and call the Illuminating Company to remove and replace it. They all just KNEW it was PCB-contaminated oil.
I would say that through the 80s, maybe into the 90s, we filtered our and replaced all the PCB or suspected PCB oil in public areas and most substation transformers.
There was one substation that had so many leaks that you could swear that the gravel went “squish” as you walked on it, it was so soaked with oil. I would probably be suspicious of the ground in that station. It was in an old industrial area in/near Cleveland. I think the only reason it’s still in service (dates back to the 1920s) is because nobody wants to deal with the cleanup.
:: because nobody wants to deal with the cleanup. ::
Have I got stories for you!
7 coal-oil plants in the State of Michigan.
In heavily populated \urban\ areas.