Legislation relating to PCB Management: Belgian Regional Case Study

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Legislation relating to PCB Management Belgian
Regional Case Study

• Ortwin Meeuws
• Skopje, November 16th, 2006

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Introduction

• OVAM - Flemish Public Waste Agency
• Belgian Focal point for Basel Convention
• EU waste policy advisor
• Other dossiers REACH, POPs and mining
  waste, WEEE
• Experienced as
  communications policy advisor

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OVAM

• Founded in 1981
• Based in Mechelen, over 400 employees
• Aims less waste and cleaner soil for Flanders
• Divisions soil and waste
• Flemish government

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Content

• EU framework
• History in Flanders
• Development of an active PCB disposal policy
• PCB inventory

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Background of the Directive

• Community legislative framework

Framework legislation
Waste framework Directives (Dir. 75/442/EEC)
Hazardous waste Directive (Dir. 91/689/EEC)
Waste shipment Regulation (Reg. (EEC) 259/93)
Waste treatment operations

• Incineration
• 89/369 429 (MW) 94/67 (HW)
• Replaced by 2000/76/EC

Landfill (99/31/EC)
Waste streams
Waste oils (Dir 75/439/EEC)
Sewage sludge (Dir 86/278/EEC)

• Batteries and accumulators(Dir. 91/157/EEC
  93/86/EEC)

Packaging (Dir.94/62/EC)
PCBs (Dir.96/59/EC
End-of-life vehicles(Dir 2000/53 EC)
Waste electric and electronic equipment (Dir.
2002/95EC 2002/96/EC)
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History in Flanders
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Development of an active PCB disposal policy

• Between 1985-1995 lt15 of known PCB containing
  equipment was disposed of
• In 1995 decontamination site
• Active PCB disposal policy was possible
• Actions
• Implementation of directive 96/59/EC
• Disposal plan for known equipment
• List of unknown PCB

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Implementation of Directive 96/59/EC

• Implemented in 1998
• Change of legislation
• also include transformers lt 100 kVA in
  environmental permission
• needed to legislate small transformers
• Notification of equipment by 1 january 1999
• EU objective disposal by end 2010
• BE objective end of 2005
• Derogation possible

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Creating a disposal plan

• Stakeholder consultation in 1998 (industry,
  public services, non profit)
• Timing schedule

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Creating a disposal plan

• Criteria for derogation
• Not leaching, good shape equipment
• Built after 1975
• Not located in a public place (schools,
  hospitals, hotels)
• Not for food industry or pharmaceutical industry
• For Seveso company only operator has shown
  prevention measures
• For applications for gt10 pieces only with a
  disposal plan

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Dioxin crises in Belgium

• In 1999
• Contamination of the food chain
• PCB oil in animal feeding
• Poultry and cattle farms were infected
• Consumer goods
• EUR 175 Mio damage refunding

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Creating a disposal plan

• Adoption of the disposal plan in 2000
• Brochure for owners of PCB containing equipment
• 7.500 pieces
• Distributed via cities, chambers of commerce,
  federations,...
• Also on OVAM-website

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Non-identified equipment

• Equipment which did not need to be notified (lt 1
  dm³)
• lack of data
• Study
• mostly capacitors (f.i. in luminaries)
• equipment which gt20 years
• Co-operation with energy company (street lights)
• other actions via WEEE take-back

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PCB inventory

• Equipment with more than 1 dm³ of PCB oil
• IT-database
• Mailing to energy producers
• end-users of middle or high voltage
• comparison with known data
• Mailing to end-users
• Answer form
• Third party verification
• 1001 PCB transformers were identified

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Inspection

• Co-operation with environmental inspection
• Checklist for PCB which needed to be completed
• 425 transformers and 156 capacitors were
  discovered
• 125 transformers and 12 capacitors were not yet
  notified
• Comparison of the inventory and list of empty
  buildings
• Additional mailings and legal actions
• Owners need to prove the fact that the equipment
  was disposed of (certificate)

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Results (as per 1.10.2005)

• Transformers
• 12.260, of which 2.270 were not yet disposed of,
  as a result of derogations
• Capacitors
• 5.454, of which 163 were not yet disposed of, as
  a result of derogations
• Other equipment
• 161, of which 13 were not yet disposed of, as a
  result of derogations
• In total 88 of the equipment was already
  disposed of

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Other actions

• Informing the scrap sector (brochures)
• Sampling actions
• construction and demolition waste
• waste wood treatment companies
• paper sludge
• Inspections of waste transports

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Questions? Remarks?

• Ortwin Meeuws
• OVAM
• Stationsstraat 110
• 2800 Mechelen
• omeeuws_at_ovam.be
• 0032 15 284 341