Press Releases - ABLE

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO IMPACT PRESS RELEASE OF TUESDAY 2 DECEMBER

John Hill, senior environment officer with the Environment Agency, said: “A very small amount, around 3%, of the total tonnage of the four US vessels comprises industrial waste, some of which may contain very low concentrations of PCBs which are bound to solid material. The exact levels of solid PCBs on a ship could only realistically be determined by the disposal contractor once dismantling work began.

“Any materials containing over 50 parts per million of solid PCBs is classed as hazardous waste, with less than 50ppm classed as non-hazardous. If the ships were being dismantled it would be the responsibility of the disposal contractor to carry out a full assessment of all levels and types of PCBs and then determine and provide the appropriate safe and legal disposal route.

“UK regulations at present allow solid PCBs above 50ppm to be landfilled in specially licensed hazardous waste sites. Incineration would be another possible method of safe disposal. But even if the material contains levels of PCBs less than 50ppm it must still be assessed to ensure it complies with the waste acceptance criteria for the receiving landfill site. Licensed landfills are engineered to prevent liquids leaking from the site and therefore these bound PCBs would be fully contained in the landfill.”

Notes for Editors: The US authorities gave an undertaking to remove all equipment containing liquid Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and accessible solid PCBs and dispose of them in the US.
Liquid PCBs were historically used in electrical equipment such as transformers, capacitors, and electronic equipment with capacitors and transformers inside and hydraulic equipment. Other equipment that could contain solid PCBs is: cable insulation, thermal insulation material including fibreglass, felt, foam, and cork, voltage regulators, switches, adhesives and tapes.

Able UK’s current waste management license for Seaton Meadows does allow disposal of solid PCBs in any concentration at the landfill site provided the sites waste acceptance criteria is met and the disposal would not result in any environmental impact from the site.

<< back