The Invention of PCBs
- Date Range
- 1932 – 1977
- Title
- The Invention of PCBs
- What occurred
- In 1932, the Monsanto Chemical Company in conjunction with General Electric developed a synthetic fluid which, “insulating and heat conducting properties similar to mineral oil, but was not flammable” unlike the traditional mineral oil that they had used in most normal transformers. This new substance known as Pyranol, chemically as Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), was put to use in transformers that would be installed in areas where fire would have devastating consequences.
- Location
- 485 Fenn St, Pittsfield, MA 01201
- Image Citation
- Archives: Transformers at Pittsfield, part 1, Engineering and Technology Historical Wiki, https://ethw.org/Archives:Transformers_at_Pittsfield,_part_1#Chapter_1:_The_Early_Years
- Student name(s)
- Mitch Stechmann