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Written question asked by Caroline Lucas (Green Party) on Wednesday, 25 March 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 April 2020. It was answered by Rebecca Pow (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 April 2020 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls: EU Law

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2020 to Question 22381 on Polychlorinated Biphenyl, if she will place in the Library all data submitted by the UK to the EU as part of the inventories of open and closed sources of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) under Directive 96/59/EC; and whether that data so submitted included PCB wastes disposed of in solid or liquid containment from UK landfill sites.

Answer

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Directive 96/59/EC requires Member States to produce an inventory of closed source PCB equipment with more than 0.005% PCB contamination. The Environment Agency holds this inventory for England and Wales and updates it annually in July. After the initial list, produced in the late 1990s, this information is not sent to the EU but can be viewed on request to the Environment Agency.

The inventory data does not include information on the disposal of PCB waste, but since the domestic PCB regulation ‘The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000’ came into force it has been illegal to dispose of PCBs in landfill. All PCB liquid and materials must be destroyed or irreversibly transformed, usually by high temperature incineration.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
34957
Session
2019-21
Related items
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Monday, 9 March 2020
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
EU law Polychlorinated biphenyls
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk