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On the occasion of the publication of the Order of October 28, 2013 on the content of the application file for a special decontamination and disposal plan for equipment containing PCBs, we'd like to take a look back at the 2nd PCB decontamination and disposal plan.
Implementation of a 2nd national plan for the decontamination and disposal of equipment containing more than 50ppm of PCBs
As a reminder, the 1st plan (approved by the decree of February 26, 2003) stipulated that owners of equipment containing more than 5 dm3 of fluid with a PCB content of at least 500 ppm had to decontaminate or dispose of this equipment by December 31, 2010 at the latest.
To take account of the end of this 1st national plan, Decree no. 2013-301 of April 10, 2013 introduces a new national plan for the decontamination and disposal of PCB-containing equipment. Articles R. 541-18 to R. 541-41 of the Environment Code are amended accordingly.
The device
The devices covered by this 2nd plan are those containing more than 50 ppm of PCBs, including devices that have been decontaminated but whose replacement fluid contains more than 50 ppm.
The plan calls for a ban on the possession of equipment containing more than 50 ppm of PCBs from :
- January 1, 2017 if the appliance was manufactured before January 1, 1976;
- January 1, 2020 if manufactured between January 1, 1976 and January 1, 1981;
- January 1, 2023 if manufactured after January 1, 1981.
The following new features are also worth noting:
- any owner of equipment likely to contain PCBs is required to know the content;
- Owners who decontaminate their equipment must carry out an analysis of the PCB content of the new fluid between 6 and 12 months after putting it back into service;
- owners of equipment with a volume of fluid containing or likely to contain PCBs of more than 5 dm3 must declare them on their website* (and no longer to the departmental prefect);
- companies handling waste containing PCBs are no longer just approved companies, but may also be ICPEs authorized to handle them;
- facilities that have processed a device containing more than 50 ppm of PCBs are required to issue a certificate attesting to the device's disposal (a certificate attesting to decontamination must always be issued).
Note: Devices manufactured after June 18, 1994 are considered to be PCB-free. Devices manufactured after February 4, 1987, hermetically sealed, or for which it is demonstrated that no dielectric fluid containing an isomer mixture with CAS registry number 76253-60-6 was added before June 18, 1994, and that the device does not have a plate indicating "UGILEC-T", are considered not contaminated by PCBs.
Case of an owner of more than 150 units affected by this plan
The holder may organize the decontamination or disposal of his equipment according to a different schedule to that described above. To benefit from a "special plan", the holder must submit a request to the Minister for the Environment. Before January 1, 2014, the holder must submit a schedule for decontaminating or disposing of its equipment. This schedule must provide for the treatment of half of all equipment by January 1, 2020, and all equipment by December 31, 2025.
The order of October 28, 2013 specifies the contents of the application file for a special plan for equipment containing PCBs. Please note that any incomplete file will be refused.
It also requires the holder of a specific plan to draw up and send to the Minister for the Environment an annual report on the progress of the plan, including a list of equipment decontaminated and disposed of, and to fill in the national inventory of equipment containing or likely to contain PCBs and PCTs.
* https://inventairepcb.ademe.fr/