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Publications
Environment Protection and Heritage Council
April 2003 edition
2.1 This plan shall be known as the PCB Management Plan and is approved by ANZECC for the management of PCBs in accordance with the National Strategy.
2.2 Figure 1 provides a visual display of the scope of this Management Plan and it summarises the treatment provisions for the different types of PCB material and PCB waste. It has been included for guidance only and readers should refer to the text for details.
Figure 1: Scope of the PCB Management Plan
| Concentration Quantity | Type of PCB | Treatment Provisions |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000 mg/kg (10%) 50 mg/kg and 50g |
Concentrated PCB Scheduled PCB See sections 5 and 9 |
All scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste is to be treated:
|
| Threshold levels 2 mg/kg |
Non-Scheduled PCB See section 10 |
Non-scheduled PCB material and non-scheduled PCB waste to be disposed of by methods approved by the agency in accordance with guidance notes at Appendices A&B. Solid non-scheduled PCB waste can go to landfill in accordance with guidance note at Appendix A. Non-scheduled PCB liquid wastes must not go to landfill. |
| PCB-free | PCB-free means material or waste containing PCBs at 2 mg/kg or less for the purposes of this plan. PCB-free material or waste is not controlled under this plan but there may be other controls for diluents. |
Notifiable quantity = 10 kg
2.3 This plan places no management requirements on materials and wastes which are designated as PCB-free.
2.4 Several provisions of this management plan set out deadlines for completion of particular actions. These deadlines will depend on the timing of implementation of this plan by jurisdictions. The removal from service of all equipment containing scheduled PCB material should be completed no later than 13 years from 1 January 1996, with the exception of equipment described in Sections 5.3.4, 5.4 and 9.13.
2.5 It is intended that this plan be given effect through Commonwealth, State and Territory statutory instruments and provide guidance to relevant State regulatory authorities with responsibility for PCBs and organizations and persons involved in the keeping, handling, treatment and disposal of PCBs.
3.1 Analyses shall be carried out by laboratories which are accredited and registered by NATA, or approved equivalents in Australia or other countries, for relevant PCB analyses. Laboratories carrying out PCB analyses shall incorporate quality assurance and quality control programs in accordance with NATA requirements.
3.2 Where analyses are required for regulatory purposes, the quality assurance program shall incorporate periodic check analyses by an independent laboratory.
3.3 Analytical methods acceptable to NATA, or approved equivalents in Australia or other countries, for inclusion in the scope of accreditation of laboratories shall be used for analysis of PCBs.
3.4 Excisting analytical data on PCBs which have been obtained by non-NATA registered laboratories may be used for indicative purposes, including initial equipment classification purposes. Such data should be identified as non-NATA certified.
3.5 Analyses shall report the PCB concentration present in the sample as the sum of the concentrations of the PCB congeners where analysis is by congener-based methodology or, where appropriate for the sample, by the mass equivalent of Askarel or Aroclor where analysis is by Askarel or Aroclor pattern matching.
3.6 Sampling and extraction for analysis shall ensure that the material being analysed is representative, without altering or selecting the sample to result in scheduled PCB material or scheduled PCB waste becoming nonscheduled PCB material or non-scheduled PCB waste.
4.1 Where premises contain more than the notifiable quantity of PCBs (10 kg), the agency shall be notified of the quantity, concentration and location of scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste.
4.2 Where a number of similar small equipment items containing PCBs, such as PCB lighting capacitors, are known to exist on any one premises, the requirement for notification shall be based on the aggregate weight of PCBs in these units.
4.3 The agency shall maintain a publicly accessible register of scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste. Holders of notifiable quantities are obliged to register their holdings; and other holders are encouraged to do so.
5.1 A relative risk-based phase-out strategy for equipment containing PCBs shall be adopted. This shall comprise the elements of surveying, testing and removal of identified high risk equipment. These steps will follow the schematic shown in Figure 2.
5.2 Surveys shall be carried out within three years of the national start date of 1 January 1996 by holders and possible holders of PCB material or PCB waste. These shall include an initial sur vey of equipment, with emphasis on priority areas, identifying probable locations and probable quantities of scheduled PCB material or scheduled PCB waste.
5.3 Risk management programs shall be implemented for all equipment by the end of the survey period set out in Section 5.2. They shall achieve:
5.3.1 in priority areas, removal from service of all equipment containing concentrated PCB material within 2 years of the survey being completed and management of that material as scheduled PCB waste;
5.3.2 in other than priority areas, in situ treatment to less than the threshold concentration or removal from service of all equipment (except that exempted in Section 9.13) containing concentrated PCB material within 5 years of the survey being completed;
5.3.3 testing of all equipment which has a probability3 of 1% or greater of containing scheduled PCB material within 5 years of the initial survey being completed; in situ treatment to less than the threshold concentration or removal of all identified scheduled PCB material (except that exempted in Section 9.13) from service within 5 years of identification; and
5.3.4 testing of all other equipment which is likely to contain scheduled PCB material at the time of maintenance, repair or decommissioning; in situ treatment to less than the threshold concentration or removal of all identified scheduled PCB material from service within 5 years of identification.
5.4 When small equipment items, such as lighting and other similar sized capacitors, containing PCBs above the threshold concentration and in aggregate above the threshold quantity exist at any one premises, they shall, at the end of their useful lives, be collected and managed as scheduled PCB waste. Where they are located in a priority area, they shall be removed from the priority area within two years of identification and managed as scheduled PCB waste.
Figure 2: Overview of PCB management strategy and timelines (refer to Sections 5, 9 & 11 for details)
| Maximum timeline for actions - national start date = 1 Jan 96 | Scheduled PCB waste in storage | Concentrated PCBs (>10%) in equipment which may affect priority areas | Concentrated PCBs in equipment in other areas | Equipment that has a probability of 1% or greater of containing scheduled PCB material (>50 mg/kg and 50g) | All other equipment except small equipment items likely to contain PCB material | Small equipment items (eg found in households or commercial buildings) likely to contain PCB material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Consign for treatment by 1 Jan 1997 | Survey equipment and establish risk management plans | Survey equipment and establish risk management plans | Survey equipment and establish risk management plans | Survey equipment and establish risk management plans | Identify at end of useful life or at time of maintenance, repair or decommissioning If equipment contains scheduled PCBs, dispose of as for scheduled PCB waste In priority areas, remove within 2 years of identification, followed by consignment for treatment within one year |
| Year 2 | ||||||
| Year 3 | ||||||
| Year 4 | Removal within 2 years of completion of survey | In situ treatment to less than the threshold level OR Removal within 5 years of completion of survey |
Testing of all equipment within 5 years of completion of survey | Testing of all equipment for PCB content on maintenance, repair or decommissioning If equipment contains scheduled PCB material treat or remove within 5 years (refer previous equipment-type box) If equipment contains non-scheduled PCB material, eventual disposal by approved methods |
||
| Year 5 | ||||||
| Year 6 | Consign for treatment within one year of removal | |||||
| Year 7 | ||||||
| Year 8 | ||||||
| Year 9 | Consign for treatment within one year of removal | In situ treatment to less than the threshold concentration OR Removal within 5 years of testing |
||||
| Year 10 | ||||||
| Year 11 | ||||||
| Year 12 | ||||||
| Year 13 | ||||||
| Beyond 2009 | Consign for treatment within one year of removal |
6.1 Investigation and clean up of PCB-contaminated land shall be in accordance with NEPM and relevant State and Territory requirements. ie. outcome of onsite treatment should be no less stringent than outlined in the NEPM and complies with State and Territory requirements in determining management/treatment levels of contaminated soil.
In the absence of a site-specific risk assessment, as detailed in the ANZECC/NHMRC guidelines, US Environmental Protection Agency and ANZECC/NHMRC levels shall be used. 4
6.2 Where it is intended to change land to a more sensitive use, such as from industrial to residential, the requirements in Section 6.1 for the intended land use shall apply.
7.1 Scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste, and material and waste having a probability of 1% or greater of being scheduled PCB material or scheduled PCB waste (see Section 5.3.3), shall be:
7.1.1 transported in accordance with the ADG Code and any conditions required by the agency, and in accordance with any other legislative requirements; and
7.1.2 stored in accordance with the requirements of dangerous goods legislation and other relevant legislation which, where applicable, includes AS 1940 - The Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids (1993).
7.2 Non-scheduled PCB material and non-scheduled PCB waste, and material and waste having a probability of less than 1% of being scheduled PCB material or scheduled PCB waste, shall be:
7.2.1 transported in accordance with any provisions applying to the diluent as described in the ADG Code and any conditions required by the agency, and in accordance with any other legislative requirements; and
7.2.2 stored in accordance with the requirements of dangerous goods legislation and other relevant legislation as they apply to the diluent which, where applicable, includes AS 1940 - The Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids (1993).
7.3 Control of PCBs in the workplace shall be in accordance with the Control of Workplace Hazardous Substances - National Model Regulations and National Code of Practice as published by Worksafe Australia and adapted into appropriate State or Territory legislation. 5
8.1 As a strategy to reduce risks, holders of scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste shall develop emergency containment and clean up procedures for the accidental release of PCBs into the environment, in accordance with the requirements of the agency.
8.2 Where specific Commonwealth, State and Territory requirements are absent, the US Environmental Protection Agency spill response procedure guidelines6 shall be used.
9.1 Scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste shall be treated wherever practicable.
9.2 Scheduled PCB waste in storage prior to 1 January 1996 shall be consigned prior to 1 January 1997 for treatment by a licensed treatment facility, unless the agency determines that viable treatment facilities are not available in Australia.
9.3 Scheduled PCB waste not in storage prior to 1 January 1996 shall be consigned, within 1 year of being removed from service or being placed in storage, for treatment by a licensed treatment facility, unless the agency determines that viable treatment facilities are not available in Australia.
9.4 Scheduled PCB waste shall be treated:
9.4.1 in accordance with an approval issued by the agency which is consistent with the National Protocol;
9.4.2 by methods which only leave treatment residues for which approved methods of disposal are available;
9.4.3 by technologies approved and licensed by the agency and which minimise release of waste to the environment; and
9.4.4 without intentional dilution or disaggregation merely to result in scheduled PCB waste becoming nonscheduled PCB waste. With the approval of the agency, blending to facilitate treatment of scheduled PCB waste is permitted.
9.5 Releases to water, air or land from PCB treatment facilities and clean up actions to be taken for accidental releases shall be specified in the facility licence, and shall be set at levels which ensure that the receiving environment is adequately protected, and in particular:
9.5.1 a risk assessment shall be carried out to confirm that the risk associated with normal operation and possible failure or malfunction of the facility is at an acceptable level, with the acceptability being determined by the agency; and
9.5.2 sampling and monitoring of all discharges and residues shall be carried out as described in Section 3.
9.6 Any liquid residue from the treatment of scheduled PCB waste shall be PCB-free.
9.7 Any liquid discharge to sewer shall meet the requirements of the ANZECC/ARMCANZ Guidelines for Sewerage Systems: Acceptance of Trade Waste (Industrial Waste). 7
9.8 There shall be no discharge of liquid PCB effluent from treatment facilities to wetlands, whether naturally occurring or artificially created. 8
9.9 Liquid effluent from the treatment of scheduled PCB waste and from sewage treatment facilities which is discharged to fresh or marine waters other than wetlands shall contain less than 0.1 and 0.4 microgram of PCBs per litre respectively. 9
9.10 Emissions of PCBs to the atmosphere from the treatment of scheduled PCB waste shall be set in accordance with the following: 10
9.10.1 Where discharge to air is likely to directly expose people to a largely undiluted source, as may be the case adjacent to a vent or near ground level, then the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Canadian time weighted exposure average (TWA) level of 1 microgram per cubic metre shall apply; and
9.10.2 Where discharge occurs through a stack and mixing with the atmosphere will occur before people can reasonably be expected to be exposed to the emissions, the agency shall set a discharge limit based on the application of best practice control technology so that this does not result in a three minute design level concentration at the premises' boundary exceeding one thirtieth of the NIOSH and TWA value. 11
9.11 Emissions of dioxins and furans to atmosphere from the treatment of scheduled PCB waste shall not exceed 0.1 nanogram per cubic metre12 as applied to the sum of all the congeners multiplied by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation toxic equivalency factors.
9.12 Any solid residue from the treatment of scheduled PCB waste shall be PCB-free. Where this is not practicable using excisting technologies, the agency may permit treatment to the level approved for disposal to a landfill which has been approved for the disposal of non-scheduled solid PCB waste. That approval shall be given in accordance with the guidance note appended to this plan. 13
9.13 Scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste shall be removed from its place of storage for treatment, or treated in situ, unless it is determined by the agency after an open consultation process, that the risk of leaving it in situ without treatment is less than the risk associated with its removal or treatment.
9.14 Equipment may be retrofilled or treated in situ provided it is managed as described in Section 5.3. Management requirements shall be based on the PCB concentration in the diluent, measured after at least one month of normal operation following retrofilling or treatment of the equipment. PCB waste derived from retrofilling or in situ PCB treatment shall be disposed of as required by this plan.
9.15 Mobile plant for the treatment for disposal of scheduled PCB waste shall require approval by the agency as for other licensed treatment facilities. For operation at a new site, approvals already in place shall be taken into consideration. Additional requirements, including site-specific discharge requirements, may need to be met.
9.16 Mobile plant for retrofilling or in situ treatment of scheduled PCB material which does not involve off-site discharges shall require licensing once only by the agency. Additional site specific requirements, including emergency procedures, may need to be met.
9.17 Non-porous solid items may be reused or recycled if the surface PCB residue is less than 1 milligram per square metre of surface area. 14
10.1 Material containing less than 50 g of PCBs at a concentration of 50 mg/kg or greater shall be disposed of as scheduled PCB waste at the end of its useful life.
10.2 Waste containing less than 50 g of PCBs at a concentration of 50 mg/kg or greater shall be disposed of as scheduled PCB waste.
10.3 Material containing PCBs at a concentration greater than 2 mg/kg and up to 50 mg/kg shall, at the end of its useful life, be disposed of by a method approved by the agency in accordance with the guidance notes appended to this plan. 13,15
10.4 Waste containing PCBs at a concentration greater than 2 mg/kg and up to 50 mg/kg shall be disposed of by a method approved by the agency in accordance with the guidance notes appended to this plan. 13,15
11.1 Scheduled PCB waste shall not be disposed of to landfill or elsewhere in the environment.
11.2 Non-scheduled liquid PCB waste shall not be disposed of to landfill or elsewhere in the environment.
11.3 Non-scheduled solid PCB waste with a concentration of PCBs less than the threshold concentration may be disposed of to a landfill approved in accordance with the guidance note appended to this plan.15
11.4 The agency and the landfill manager should be encouraged to provide for the separation of electrical equipment or material suspected of containing PCBs.
A nationally co-ordinated and statistically valid PCB sampling and monitoring program shall be carried out to determine whether concentrations of PCBs in the environment are decreasing with time. Through excisting or new programs of sampling and analysis, a range of receiving environments shall be monitored, including:
The agency shall employ a transport certification system that is consistent with the transport certificates issued under the National Guidelines for the Management of Wastes (National Manifest and Classification System) - July 1994. The agency shall require a certificate of destruction or disposal to be issued by the treatment facility operator and a copy to be returned to the agency. A register of completed waste destruction certificates shall be maintained by the agency and shall be publicly accessible.
14.1 Community-based collection programs should include industry and all tiers of government in their funding and implementation.
Programs for the management of scheduled PCB waste should consist of, but not be restricted to, collection and disposal schemes, public information campaigns and regulations. Any community-based collections should be undertaken as part of a nationally co-ordinated collection program for dealing with all scheduled wastes.
Commonwealth, State and Territory environmental, health and other responsible bodies shall take responsibility for managing the proper collection and disposal of scheduled wastes, including PCBs, which are distributed in the wider community.
14.2 Private and public corporations shall be encouraged to co-operate with local, State and Commonwealth bodies in programs for the management of PCBs in the wider community.
15.1 Licensing and operation of facilities for the treatment and disposal of scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste shall undergo a formal public consultation process.
15.2 Information relating to storage, emergency planning, transport, treatment and disposal of scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste shall be made publicly accessible by the agency.
15.3 The agency shall ensure that education programs are formulated for electricians, building owners and operators, landfill operators, emergency workers and other people likely to come into contact with scheduled PCB material and scheduled PCB waste, to facilitate identification and disposal in keeping with the requirements of this plan.
15.4 In applying the relative risk-based phase-out strategy for equipment containing PCBs detailed in Section 5, organisations shall ensure the proper training of relevant personnel as a key component of implementing the risk-based strategy.
16.1 The review period for this management plan shall be not greater than five years.
16.2 The review shall consider information made available through State of the Environment and other reporting mechanisms, including: