Council Directive 96/59/EC

of 16 September 1996

on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130s (1) thereof,

Having regard to the Commission proposal1,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee2,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty3,
(1)
Whereas Council Directive 76/403/EEC of 6 April 1976 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls4 brought about an approximation of the laws of the Member States in this field; whereas those rules have not proved sufficient; whereas the state of the art has evolved to a point where disposal conditions for PCBs can be improved; whereas that Directive should therefore be replaced by a new Directive;
(2)
Whereas Council Directive 76/769/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations5 underlines, the need for a periodic review of the whole problem with a view to moving gradually towards a complete ban on PCBs and PCTs;
(3)
Whereas the safe disposal of non-recyclable and non-reusable waste is one of the objectives of the Council Resolution of 7 May 1990 on waste policy6, as confirmed by the Fifth Action Programme on the Environment and Sustainable Development, the approach and general strategy of which were approved by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, in their Resolution of 1 February 19937;
(4)
Whereas in accordance with Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste8, appropriate measures must be taken to avoid the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste, and the use of processes or methods which could harm the environment;
(5)

Whereas in order to dispose of PCBs, because of the risks they present for the environment and for human health, general obligations concerning the controlled disposal of PCBs and the decontamination or disposal of equipment are necessary;

(6)
Whereas such measures should be taken as soon as possible without prejudice to the Member States’ international obligations, in particular those contained in PARCOM Decision 92/39; whereas PCBs which are the subject of an inventory must be disposed of by the end of 2010 at the latest;
(7)

Whereas the disposal of PCBs represents a transitional and temporary problem and some Member States which have no PCB disposal capacity face a force majeure situation; whereas the proximity principle should be interpreted in a flexible manner so as to permit European solidarity in this area; whereas, in addition, installations should be set up in the Community for the disposal, decontamination and storage of PCBs;

(8)
Whereas Council Directive 75/439/EEC of 16 June 1975 on the disposal of waste oils10 lays down 50 ppm as the maximum limit for the PCB or PCT content of regenerated oils or oils used as fuel;
(9)
Whereas Council Directive 91/339/EEC of 18 June 1991, amending Directive 76/769/EEC for the eleventh time11, prohibits or restricts the marketing of certain PCB substitutes, and whereas they too should therefore be disposed of completely;
(10)

Whereas it is essential to know what quantities of PCBs exist in order to be able to match disposal capacity to needs; whereas it is therefore necessary to label equipment containing PCBs and to compile inventories of such equipment; whereas such inventories must be regularly updated;

(11)

Whereas, bearing in mind the costs and technical difficulties entailed by an inventory of equipment slightly contaminated with PCBs, a simplified inventory should be used; whereas, in addition, provision should be made for equipment slightly contaminated by PCBs to be disposed of at the end of its useful life, bearing in mind the low risks it presents for the environment;

(12)

Whereas the marketing of PCBs is prohibited, and whereas the separation of PCBs from other substances for their reuse and the topping up of transformers with PCBs should therefore be prohibited; whereas, however, on safety grounds, the maintenance of transformers may be continued in order to sustain the dielectric quality of the PCBs they contain;

(13)

Whereas undertakings carrying out the disposal and/or decontamination of PCBs must obtain permits;

(14)

Whereas the conditions for decontaminating equipment containing PCBs must be defined and whereas the equipment should be specifically labelled;

(15)

Whereas certain technical tasks necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be carried out by the Commission, in accordance with the Committee procedure referred to in Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC;

(16)

Whereas the number of PCB disposal and decontamination plants is small and their capacity limited and the disposal and/or decontamination of the PCBs inventoried must therefore be properly planned; whereas, moreover, outlines for the collection and subsequent disposal of non-inventoried equipment should be drawn up; whereas such outlines may, if necessary, make use of existing mechanisms concerning waste in general and need not take account of very minor quantities of PCBs which cannot be identified in practice,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: