Stepping up to face a growing concern.

Transformers are everywhere. They are not something most people think about, yet they are crucial to the delivery of electric power to our homes, workplaces, and public institutions. Electric utilities rely on transformers to distribute electricity to commercial, industrial, and residential users.

Whether buried underground or mounted overhead, transformers are often overlooked until one fails, interrupting electric service. Industry analysts report that transformer failures are common, and costly. While most transformer failures are benign, there are instances of “eventful” failures (causing tank ruptures and fires) with negative consequences. When a transformer fails, the dielectric insulating fluid (non-conductive fluid used to insulate and cool electrical distribution products such as transformers) becomes important.

When transformers fail, our environment can suffer.

When a transformer fails eventfully, fluid leaks and spills can occur. If the dielectric fluid in use is petroleum-based mineral oil, these leaks and spills can have a harmful effect, killing wildlife and plants and contaminating streams and soil. Petroleum-based mineral oil is harmful to our environment due to its inherent properties and relative persistence. Most states have stringent—and often costly—petroleum oil-spill notification and clean-up requirements, even for spills on soil. In addition, some petroleum-based mineral oil in use today may contain materials identified by the EPA as a confirmed carcinogen.*

This is unacceptable, because a far safer, cleaner, and fire-resistant alternative exists: biodegradable bio-based transformer fluid. And while more than 100 utilities throughout the country already use biodegradable bio-based fluid, it is estimated that billions of gallons of mineral oil are still in use. This major environmental risk needs to be addressed today.

*While today’s mineral transformer oils are highly refined, there are hundreds of millions of gallons in existing older transformers that contain significant quantities of polynuclear aromatics. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Report EPA 600/R-02/042, the primary component of this mineral oil-based transformer fluid was a hydrotreated light naphthenic petroleum distillate, ranging from 30 to 100 percent. Due to this content, such oil “was identified in Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) No. 6472-53-6 as an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) confirmed carcinogen based on experimental data for animals.”