by Hal Bernton, Seattle Times

The 81 tons of transformers and other equipment are junk from  U.S. Army bases in Japan, stowed in 14 containers aboard the Wang He, a China Ocean Shipping vessel scheduled to dock
today at Terminal 18 in Seattle and then head to Vancouver, B.C.

The transformers contain low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls,  or PCBs, long-lived chemicals that some studies have linked to cancer. 

But as of yesterday afternoon, the waste contractor, Trans-Cycle Industries of Pell City, Ala., had yet to gain approval to unload the cargo in the United States, Canada or anywhere in the world. 

"We've made no final determination of its destination. There's lots of discussions going on," said Michael Zarin, a New York attorney representing Trans-Cycle Industries. 

The U.S. military transformers were used in power production and are part of a growing worldwide stockpile of toxic waste. Disposal of the waste is a big-dollar international business that has come under increasing scrutiny from government regulators and environmental groups. 

Trans-Cycle initially planned to unload the waste in Vancouver and transport it overland to its recycling operation in northern Ontario. But Trans-Cycle can process only Canadian waste, not imported waste, according to John Steele, spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. 

The company applied for a certificate that would permit such imports, but the Ontario provincial government turned it down last year. Despite the rejection, the company went ahead with plans to dispose the waste in Canada, triggering a political firestorm after the plans were detailed in the Canadian media. 

Yesterday, Vancouver port officials said they would not allow the cargo to be unloaded without additional guarantees from the shippers. 

Disposing of the waste in the United States seems unlikely, although the shipment could sit in Seattle while negotiations continued. 

The United States does allow imports of some hazardous wastes  for disposal in licensed U.S. facilities. But PCBs are regulated under a separate federal law for toxic materials. And that law, as  interpreted by a 1997 federal-court ruling, generally prohibits importation of PCBs. 

Zarin, the Trans-Cycle attorney, said the surplus military  equipment is not a big risk, with the PCBs at extremely low levels  - less than 50 parts per million. "They're essentially scrap metal," Zarin said. 

But U.S. and Canadian environmental groups are monitoring the shipment. Officials of Greenpeace Canada said the toxic waste is the responsibility of the U.S. government and have suggested  using a hydrogen process they say could safely dispose of the PCBs at the military bases in Japan. 

Meanwhile, a spokesman for a U.S. environmental group that  tracks hazardous waste said the group will oppose any attempt to unload the waste in Seattle. 

"Seattle is not a temporary disposal site," said David Bakter of the Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange.