Document 3e2zZzXkRpNL4ovNGjy7eYYen

1 r'rr -i: V iI I, 4. ** i- I ! i i < working group ok thi disposal op toxic vasts !SPOUT 01' THE SUB-GROUP ON PCB* 1. Tha netd for hocl*I attention It h*e already been reoognieod both nationally and internationally in OBCD that tha u*e and subsequent dieporeal of polycblorinatBd hiphanyla (PCBs) warrant apodal attention, The raaaona for thia roloto to thair portieular characteristic*. PCBo do not occur naturally but arc wholly synthetic aubatanoaa which ere generally vary atobla and which t hero fora peroict in the eiwironaont for vory lone parlode. Their high fat-oolubility and tho fact that aone a"a natabOlleed and aicratad only vory olotily laado to their ooncantration and accuauletion in the fatty tiaouaa of living organisms, This poreietance and accumulation, coupled with uncertaintlao about long-term affeota of low concentrations, ie the baeia of tha need for epooial ooncideration in dlapoaal of weetaa. Prior to racant reatrlotiona (beotlon 2), PCBa ware uead aitanalvoly as dieleotrie fluid* for transforaora dhd oapooitora, aa hydraulic fluids, heat tranefar agenta, lubricant* and vacuua puap oile and aa plaelicieore in adheeivaa, ecalante, paint*,plastic* and oarbonlo3* copying paper. In oonsequence th*v have b*cono vidoly (but not unifo-rily) distributed in t e nvironaent. Generally the highor levclo on found in industrial nr-' o, but laowhor* lovol* nr* ununlly very low. Typically, concontrcti t n1 of f> *. r n 0.01 ppb* are ob'orved In nir ana soa water and looo tlin'i 1 ppb in lrcc.< icier, Soil and tubaarine codimcnto u-.unllv contain loan thnn 10 ppb, but u t overal hundred thousand ppb near Bono industrial outfall*. Aquatic orranlene take in PC Bn fro- vutor and t)ic aoan concentration i . , orth Atlantic plankton i* about 200 ppb, or nio c than 20,000 tirce the level in the North Atlantic itself, In tins largT t-ivertobratea lavela of up to 100 p .b in lobetor and 500 p;b in nur.aola h ve been found. In the rich In her levelr ag 10-2000 ppb in herring -,n.i 10O-10Cfi in o'horn, hnve been rsportod. In sxtrM oaaea of pradatcry bird* at the and of food chuina living in polluted arena, very high concontrntiono can oocur. Thu* th* fi*h-f**ding whito-tjilod agl* in the Baltic lias bean found with up to about 200,000 ppb in the ' hnlo body, and wv*n higher 'evole in tho livor, Sinilurly a heron in tho llh habeen reported with 900,000 ppb of PCBa in th* livor. * 1 ppb ie oo* part por billion (l billion 1 thousand Billion) HONS 212526 l. t 1 Nan of oourae (ate food derived froa etiiaal* but in the {treat aejorlty of eaeee PCBe ere generally well below 50 ppb in the UK, The Aaerlcan Food and Drug Adnlnietration have eot interia levele for eofety ranging froa 200 ppb for epecial infant and junior food* to 5000 ppb for poultry and tho edible portion* of fieh end ehellfieh. .f , J The routee of direct entry of PCBe to nan are via inhalation and absorption through tha efcin, The acute oral to/loity of FC&i to anaemia and blrdu id low, with lethal lavolc bong rinilar to thoeo of DECT, Tho oral l>C^{doso to hill 50? of the subjects) is in the ranee 4000 - 20,000 ag/kg body weight and the akin HUD (alniaun lathol doeo) for robbite i* in tho rango 1000-8000 ag/kg bodv weight. Their chronic toxicity to run and other manuals ie moderate. In the "Tusho" incident in Japan, involving conauaption of PCB-contaainoted rice-oil, the average dose aeaccioted with ei nificant clinical symptom in aen wae about 50 ag/day, but a ainiaua poaitivo affect level wee lower at 3 ag/day over eevoral non the. Research io in ..rogros-. to investigate poeeibl# low-1 evol long-tera affacta, * j * ' FCBa oan bo lathal to certain aquatic organiana at very loti concentrations in tha watsri In partioular, certain speciee of ahriape have been killed et levole of 1 ppb or lees. Thio ie a ooneequence of the uptake, concentration and accumulation inhibited by theeo orgonir.ne. Difference in the toxicit'* of ccnntcrclol Itlta ca*. rrir*p fro i tvP pror.?*re oUif cU'-eTr^taIUinII i*.npuritiooe notobly polyahloro--dik>on^ funns* VI.one suW tuncce L/ *MaF*inthc bnsic eto_r__t_i___n__-___r__w__i_t_'_n___n__l_i__.___o__r____o__r__i_r_e___y__f_f__o__'____t__i_c_____p__i_-_o__r_._-_c__n__i_n_ c. cniiti ir 2. llanufncturo and uroBont ussa The oolc manufacturer of FCBe m tic UK ie i.onca-U> Cho iculr ltd. Jmcc 1971 tho Conpair; ha' ouppliad :CBa to th . lectiic.i) liiduitry o Oi, foi uto solely no diolootric fluidn in tmnoformcrti nnd ensaeitora. At pr-ont ne adequate eubatitutoe for thcao uocn oriot. Vory en-ill nunti tier. of 1U1V arc i , aleo provided for research proJcotD rolatcd to traniforncro and ea.-ici torci | end also for analytical and toxicological studiet. The likelihood of prcvi ul othor ur.urn of FCUn huvin ai -nificant unuood stocks io thou-hi to be r nioiul, . and thic nuot bo a diminishing poooibill t/. 3- Cw.Ub.l..Jiw,rd8 (o) ` The UK io purty to o voluntary interimlioiiul agreement oT the C_/lb. Essentially thin proponed that PChs ohould bo used only i>' cloeod cyeto .9 in a liaitod numb or oi cases uhoro the ainianl risk of conlaainati on of the {J 5: HONS 212527 ? environment ie outweighed either by the feet that no adequate substitutes exiet lor portioular applications or by the considerable advantages, eg eefety, associated with their uoo in epeoial oreae. The voluntary restrictions operated by the PCB manufacturer in the UK ensure that UK praotice falls within these terms, (b) Disposal ?ho objective of diejioeal mothode mot be to avoid unnecessary and uncontrolled dieporsol of rCBs, The Oslo and liotidon Dunpin" Conventions to which the UK in s signntory, prohibit dumplrc at eea, unless present in trace quantities. The deliberate diepoeal of PCBa to the eoo, to entunr^ea, rivera and acwora cannot be Knowingly permitted. Vfhilc ideally controlled dinchergen should alco be freo from FCBo, it ie inevitable that there will b low concantratl one in the discharges from plants nutiufucluring and handling rcbe, In Such coses, levels in the dischergoa should be controlled ao thnt levels in tho recipient waters do not exceed 0,01 ppb, as recomended by the Environmental Protection Agency. In view of these principles, FCBa must therefore preferably be destroyed and detoxified or dieposod of on land whor their nobility is re# trie ted end where control oen be exorcioed. The only proven adequate process ensuring destruction end detoxification is hightemperature incinoretion, 4, Categories of fCBe requirin' dla-real PC Be requirin'' disposal arioo in several diotincl areas: (i) l.annfac tun m- was tea Tho majority of PCBo di*3tO0od of in Ul,' orii-c fro * nrim'`actiu in wantoo. Theoc a^o ct prsscnt di^jjoo^d of by hirh-tc^ucr rc:n r 'j yn. The quantity o&ounta to oi'out 400 tono/n'"mm at pre*nit &tu1 m not to increase* (li) Imported mob tea Bocaunc eufficiont high-tomporaturo incineration facilities a o not evoileble in contlnonta) Europe, about 250 tonD of liquid PCBs tire nnp->rlcd into UK onch year foi (lisj>o50l by incinoration, Uhilot import involvea transportation of large quantities of FCBs, and thus oame ri3) of nacide tul epillara, it lo treforuble that adequate methods, l,o, high-tewpcrtturo incineration, should be used, rather than inadequate, ec indiDcriui n.itc dumping. In the absence of udoquate facilities in continental Euro c, this trade ahou'd not bo diecuurag''d. HONS 212528 npyi.n.i.aip^jin m i w iiwtiwn n i r Uii) PCBs have been used in tranoformer* aince th* 1940*. These particular PCBe are the highly-chlori rated, very pareiatant typos. Cinca 1971, all transformers liave oerried a label nomine uaara of the need for adaquate disposal methods, and eons have dono ao at not 1940. Thar* is a nosd for a unified, standard label to bo agreed, and it io preferable that this Should be done intornstiunally, Thin ie bel ng consider-d by Mk ZSC and other interested parties Some manufacturers of trannforucre have -- written to ell purchasers of tranifomors, even \ck to thoeo buying in the 1940s, informing tl,em of the need for adaquate dispose! orrongomento, Othero might be encouraged to do likoviee. The life of transformers is ebout 30 yosra ond ft few uni to, containing about 10 tons I'CBs in totol, are scrapped eoch voar ot preocu*. About 300 unite a -e manufactured each year in UK, of uhich obout 200 sic foi the home market. By 1963, ebout 100 unite/snnun, containing a total of about 130 tons PCBe, may require scrapping; by tho yoar 2000, the lovol mav reach 200 unlta/annun, equivalent to 250 tons PC Be. There Is only very el 01; growth in tho dsnand for PCB-filled transformers and it seema unlikely that any sudden incroses in demand will arias. (iv) Urfitt cfltpcUorg { Power factor correction capacitors) unud In the U) conlrin bet or 0.5 end 20 litron of PC Bn. Pont of thin is- abn orbed in the 111 .jsl- 1 , im' little iB proaont sis tile free linuid. buCh C.;,nCi 1 0:'0 fi -r t 1 0 it into t rvii-c in tho lute 1950s but bccnuac of their Ion life (about ?5 yours,/, v -> f hovo yet been taken out of nervier. however, tlic 19P0u, n n'nber - -c 1 nt to give ri'.o to about 130 tone, of PCIls ml] roqji'C dinjiotnl on*1 b Mi; ' -u 2000 thic Dsiy rise to shout 251' tons) PC Sc. Thun thooc will bo ci"jv 1n tcroc of quantity of PCB uonte, to trannfornero, It 1 dciiralf. n i.l practicable that those uni's ohould nine be labelled on an internal! mu Uv screed bnaio as to the need for adequate lUapooal and thin m beiny di c.,scJ . (v) Small esinneitore ^ JUt l*vd*%**f Thone are generally mounted singly inside eiuirvuonl such to 6 fluorescent light fittings, washing mochiiioa, 01 r coml. tinting unite suiu a rencs of induotrial cloctricsil equipment. The rate of ocrajhdng of there itemi probably varies quite widaly, but it a cists reason iblc to aseune en avirn n life of about 10 ycaro p;r unit. Tho quantity of PCBo in capacitors bcin, presently acrap]>oO is ebout 250 tone/annum; this nay rise to a pook of ebout HONS 212529 A. I V t t s I, f; 1j1 ti 400 tona/annum around 1930 and then fall to about 190 tona/annum. by 1990, duo to the introduction of other foraa of dlelactrio, Thu* the total quantity of rCBe being dlepooed of In thlo oetegory ie already of the aaae ordor on tho other ootsgorisa (l), (il), (ill)/ (iv) are likely to reach by the end of tho century, Removal of theee capacitors froa eaoh * operate ltea of alaetrical equipment prior to scrapping ie not proctioablo. At preecnt, they are therefore tippod onto rubbish dumps, incorporated into a crap sotal or paae through municipal ino) norot ore. The vast majority of thoec capacitors contain negligible quantities of free liquid PC Be, since the dialootric la abciorbed into paper windings, Sven if, whe tipped onto dumps, tlielr sealed inetnl easing wrro ruptured, tho FCBa would be loechod out by water only very el ovly. These particular PCBo are less highly chlorinated than those ueed In trons formers and are mors readily degradable. The PCD content of those capacitors undergoing eersp metal processing in steal fumaeoe, where temperatures r;*ch about 1600C, will be destroyed. Those capacitors passing through municipal inoiMrators, where the temporeturs and tha resldenoe time era inadequate to anaure oooplete degradation of thd PCB oontent, will therefore relaase ]*rt of their FCB oontent to air and part will he tipped with the ash from incinerators. 9. Incineration fflcll'tioe At preecnt there ic only 1 hightomporatnre inclncrr tion pi int nvniJ.llc for use i" the UK servin'' thi* wunte-dinjioniil induotry co)iable of effectively disposing of PCBe, By the ord of tic vc..r another vill be conunissi'mcd, end we undcrotund that another 2 or 3 nay becouo ovailable in tile nvnr future. Thoso fecilltict burn liquid orgnnic wustcu, includiu; PCBs, nt o temper!,tvro of about 1200C, hirh enough to Convert PCtlo to CO^, H^O Ond HC1. The first two vopoure are of rslotlvely low or negligible oiwironmontnl impact; HC1 is removed fron the effluent by scrubbing, ennurin,; full coeplluncs ilth the tondurda of the Alkali Act. Tho FCBo arc therefore effectively doetroyed and detoxified. Tho total ovoilablc copacity in tho UK foi high-teDperaturo lnclnerotlon of liquid organic woetes will be 20,'0 tone/annum by thj end of 1973, of which oa. fitt could bo ohlorlnoted waste*, llonce these focllitles will be sdequote to provide for dleposol of the quantities likely to orisr st least up to the end of tlm eontury. The alto coot of disposal by this method ie typically at present about 10 - 30/ten, the upper Halt being applicable to the more highly chlorinated eubstanoee. HONS 212530 9. -9 -f f L.L Only Halted facilities exist for the incineration of solid FCB-pontantnated wastes, eg FCBe absorbed onto tho paper wl ndlnca of capacitors, Incineration la labour intensive and neoaaaltatsa a prellninary stage of volatilisation and oolleotlon of the PCB content) thia la Inevitably mere ooatly than straightforward incinarotlon. 6. ftaconaondatlona In view of the evldenoe now available about the action and dietrlbutlon of PCBa, raoouaand that thoir uao and disposal should be eubject to special consideration, () J&UL Me regard tho praeont voluntary oontrola exercised by the sole UK manufacturer as satisfactory. While this voluntary ayatae oannot oontrol ths Import of either bulk FCBe or FCB-conteining products, these ere most likely to coee from OECD oountrlee, and ahould thus be subject to eimllar restrictions under the OSCD agreement. At present, It la not profitable te recover and reuse FCBe, but the situation may ohans* and thsaa reoovared FCBe would fall eutaid| tha aoope of,thia voluntary mchame. In addition, another oonpany oould^any time ooemanea manufacture of FCBe and whilst this ahould ooaa within tho OECD agrsseient, it would not be covered bv the present manufacturer's rethor more restrictive voluntary echene, Ve tlierofor reeonmend that the prose-it arrenrooente should continue but be rovio.rd in five yeore' tine. Tho Secrotary of Stnto for the Unvironuont will be afforded emergency poeorn under tlic Protection of the Environment 1'ill to control the use of any mnterlalo which rop-ouonl a hazard to eny part cf tho comuni ty. In view of 1<o voluntary buaia of prouont control a on ICBa, theeo eubotanceo ohould be includod anon;nt those covorod by theca poucia. (b) Dipposal (l) Liquids A method of dlrpoaal of liquid I'CDo tlint is known to be safe la high-temperature incineration end we therefore reoogaon) obligator' disposal of liquid FCBe by thie method. Approvod inoinoratioiywill bo specifically licensed for this purpose. Me reco-noivl that focllltios should be piovucd for analysis of otacl; gneoe to bo carried out at frequent interval*. A realistic figure for stack emissions of FCBs, based on exporionce gained at menufeetunng plants, le a concentration of lmg/m^, with a total overall llr,ilt of 0.5 kg/day for each el to. Thare are practical difficulties asooclated with the aothoda to be adopted to enure these oondltlons are being net. These ere at present being oone!derod bv the International Blectrotechnioal Commission (Technical Committee 10) on which tho UK industry le ropremented,ao we recommend that HONS 212531 6. If an agreed methodology it pro pot*d bp tbit body, tht tut should bt adopttd In tht OK for ttapllne and analysis of ttaofc [Un for PCB*. Purohaatrt of tranaforntra and large oapaoitort art informed of tht mU for adequate ditpooal and each pitot of equipment now acid oarritt a lnbol to thia tffeot. Wo think tliat thit system will prove effective when ouch equipiont btooato obeolote, However, thort it a potential problem oaeoolattd with ditpoeal of unlabtllad flrat-generation oquipeont. Sooe retroepeotlve laballlng it being corrltd out and wa wolcoao thit. Wo feel that the probability of lorgt tranoforaora baity; obtained by uninformed scrap aerchmntt ie alnlaal and w* regard the ret roe pec tire lobe) line axarciie at all thot can praotioally be achieved. (ii) Contaminated lollda i gubetential proportion of aolid vet tee oontainiiy; PCfia oeoure In eaall capaoltora. Other eolid warntee oontaalnated with PCD# include rtger tewdutt, Puller* Earth, paper, etc.> arising from manufacturing and handlinc plant*. Where oopacltora remain in tin apparatus It la oonoiderad aooepteble that they can be diapoeed of by tipping Onto dry tipo, Where large number* of oapacitor* or large quantities of contaminated aolid* roquiro diaponal, eg fron manufacturing or handling pi ante, thaao ahould be roottod to volnt^liae the PCD content, which nay thon be incinorated at approved high-teaperaturo facilltleo. (ill) Trarr. i-ortation otc Tho carrlocc on land of waatt liquid PCDs ehoitld bo cubjcct to coapnrable conditions in terao of labollin;, handlinc, puckagln, and traneport so or* et proeont voluntnr ly a,plied in UK to freshly-.anufuctured bulk liquid FCBs s understand tlmt a Codo of Practice of this type ie at preec r^be.1 nejiraq n up by the d** 0'*'"** (CIOaE^'Jorkinc; ^roup tC/02); thl# would form tho banl* for an lntematlorolly acooptablc prooednre. (c) An*logout euhatencca Substance* such ao alkylated chloro-blphenylo and polychlorinated terphonylo (PCTt) are structurally similar to FCBs and have conparable proper tite. They hove ae yet, only vary rot trie tod use* in the UK und nre not manufactured hero. They do not coae within the to roc of the OBCD agreement on FCBe and there are no control* over their import, Wo feel that. In prinolplo, thee* substance* should be eubjoot to tho eano constraints 7. i HONS 212532 In u and diepoenl no we reoouend for FCBa, but poeitlve propoe'ele will depend on Whether their ueo eipatvde. be reooenend thnt they bn included In the review euaseeted for 5 yoore henoe. * HONS 2L2S33