Revised PCB Regulations Published

Chemicals, Compliance, EMSmastery Intermediate, Environment Agency, Environmental, Environmental Management, Hazardous Waste, ISO 14001, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Leave a comment

The storage and disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and other Dangerous Substances have been revised and published in amendment Regulations.

You should consider whether this compliance obligation needs to be recognised in your ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System.

A Regulation close to my heart is The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000, which implemented European Union’s Council Directive 96/59/EC (“the Directive”) on the disposal of
polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (“PCBs”).

I was the Project Manager within the Environment Agency responsible for the implementation across the United Kingdom having amassed a significant expertise in these legacy chemicals & worked to develop the regulatory framework as well as a database of the known inventory of PCB contaminated equipment.

Some years have passed since the original Regulations (“2000 Regulations”) were passed and, now, new Regulations: The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 have been published.

These Regulations amend the earlier 2000 Regulations in two ways:

  1. Regulation 4 of the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 are amended to provide that Member States shall identify and remove from use equipment (e.g. transformers, capacitors or other receptacles containing liquid stocks) containing more than 0.005 % PCBs and volumes greater than 0.05 dm3, as soon as possible but no later than 31st December 2025.
  2. Subsequent and related related changes to the 2000 Regulations, in particular to regulation 13 (offences and penalties), regulation 13A (civil sanctions in England) and regulation 13B (civil sanctions in Wales).
ACTION POINTS
1. Obtain a copy of the 2020 Regulations
2. Review the amendments in relation to compliance with the 2000 Regulations
3. Take action to comply with the new compliance requirements

#PCB, #HazardousWaste, #Compliance, #LegalRegister

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