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Article: First PCBs, now DEHP ballasts. (polychlorinated biphenyls; di 2-ethylhexyl phthalate) (Operating Techniques & Products Bulletin 428)
- Article from:
- Journal of Property Management
- Article date:
- September 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 National Association of Realtors. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When PCBs were banned in 1979, certain manufacturers of lighting ballasts used di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) as a substitute in small capacitors for a five-to-ten-year period, depending on the type of ballast. In fact, approximately 50 percent of all lighting ballasts that do not contain PCBs instead contain DEHP.
DEHP is a clear, odorless, synthetic compound that is used extensively as a plasticizer as well as a dielectric fluid. Unfortunately; laboratory tests of the compound showed that long-term exposure to high levels of DEHP caused cance in rats and mice. Although it is not known for certain whether DEHP actually causes cancer in humans, it has been ...