The Nation - News from July 18, 1985

Many high-voltage transformers in seven Smithsonian Institution buildings in the nation’s capital are leaking toxic PCBs that could contaminate national treasures forever, the Washington Post reported. The newspaper also quoted an anonymous source as saying that circuit breakers that are supposed to reduce the risk of fire are fire hazards in themselves. “Every building has defective circuit breakers,” the source said, which “may not trip under overload conditions.”