PCB Regulations (SOR/2008-273)

PART 1General

Marginal note:Definitions

• 1 (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

  Act

  Act means the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. (Loi)

  authorized facility

  authorized facility means a facility, including a transfer site, that is authorized by the authorities of the jurisdiction in which it is located to process PCBs or products containing PCBs or to conduct laboratory analysis or research with PCBs or products containing PCBs. (installation agréée)

  National Fire Code

  National Fire Code means the National Fire Code of Canada 2005, NRCC No. 47667, issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, National Research Council of Canada, as amended from time to time. (Code national de prévention des incendies)

  PCB

  PCB means any chlorobiphenyl described in item 1 of the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 to the Act. (BPC)

  process

  process[Repealed, SOR/2011-301, s. 3]

  product

  product[Repealed, SOR/2011-301, s. 3]

• Marginal note:Concentration — several matrices

  (2) For the purposes of these Regulations, if a solid or a liquid containing PCBs is composed of several matrices, the concentration of PCBs is based on the mass of the matrix in which the PCBs are located.

• Marginal note:Accredited laboratory

  (3) Any analysis performed to determine the concentration of PCBs for the purposes of these Regulations must be performed by a laboratory that meets the following conditions at the time of the analysis:

  • (a) it is accredited

    • (i) under the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17025, entitled General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, by an accrediting body that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement, or

    • (ii) under the Environment Quality Act, CQLR, c. Q-2; and

  • (b) the scope of its accreditation includes the analysis performed to determine the concentration of PCBs in the matrix in which the PCBs are located.

• Marginal note:Sampling method

  (4) For the purposes of these Regulations, other than section 13, the concentration of PCBs in a matrix is determined using a provincially, nationally or internationally recognized sampling method for PCBs in the matrix in which the PCBs are located.

• Marginal note:Sampling method — bulk solid products

  (5) For the purposes of section 13, the concentration of PCBs is determined using a sampling method for bulk solid products, which is set out in either federal or provincial legislation, as amended from time to time, or approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act or with the regulations made under that Act, as amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Application

• 2 (1) These Regulations apply to PCBs and to any products containing PCBs.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) These Regulations do not apply to the following:

  • (a) the import and export of PCBs that are or are considered to be hazardous waste or hazardous recyclable material within the meaning of sections 2 to 5 of the Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations;

  • (b) the sale, importation or advertising of liquids containing PCBs for use in microscopy, including immersion oils but not including refractive index oils, which is prohibited under section 5 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act; and

  • (c) the offer for sale, sale and use of land contaminated with PCBs or with products containing PCBs.

Marginal note:Sale of property

3 Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as preventing the sale of

• (a) personal property or movables that contain PCBs, or real property or immovables that have PCBs or products containing PCBs, and that form part of the sale of the whole or part of a business, including a manufacturing or a processing business;

• (b) real property or immovables that have products containing PCBs if the products continue to be used after the sale for the same purpose at the same place and are an integral part of the property or immovable; or

• (c) real property or immovables on which a PCB storage site is located.

Marginal note:Compliance

4 In addition to the persons who must comply with the requirements set out in these Regulations, a person who owns PCBs or products containing PCBs shall ensure that the requirements of these Regulations with respect to those PCBs or products are met.

PART 2Prohibitions and Permitted Activities

Prohibitions

Marginal note:Release into the environment

• 5 (1) No person shall release PCBs into the environment, other than from the equipment referred to in subsection (2), in a concentration of

  • (a) 2 mg/kg or more for a liquid containing PCBs; or

  • (b) 50 mg/kg or more for a solid containing PCBs.

• Marginal note:Release from equipment

  (2) No person shall release more than one gram of PCBs into the environment from equipment referred to in section 16 that is in use or from equipment in use for which an extension has been granted under section 17.

Marginal note:Prohibited activities

6 Except as provided in these Regulations, no person shall

• (a) manufacture, export or import PCBs or a product containing PCBs in a concentration of 2 mg/kg or more;

• (b) offer for sale or sell PCBs or a product containing PCBs in a concentration of 50 mg/kg or more; or

• (c) process or use PCBs or a product containing PCBs.

Permitted Activities

Marginal note:Laboratory analysis

7 A person may manufacture, export, import, offer for sale, sell, process and use PCBs or products containing PCBs for the purpose of laboratory analysis if the analysis is conducted

• (a) in an authorized facility that is authorized for that purpose; or

• (b) in a facility that conforms to internationally recognized guidelines on best laboratory practices, if the authorities of the jurisdiction in which the facility is located do not have a mechanism in place to authorize the facility to conduct the analysis.

Marginal note:Research

• 8 (1) A person may offer for sale or sell PCBs or products containing PCBs to be processed or used for the purpose of research to determine the effects of those PCBs or products on human health or on the environment, if the facility in which they are processed or used is

  • (a) an authorized facility that is authorized for that purpose; or

  • (b) a facility that conforms to internationally recognized guidelines on best laboratory practices, if the authorities of the jurisdiction in which the facility is located do not have a mechanism in place to authorize the facility to conduct the research.

• Marginal note:Processing and use

  (2) A person may process and use the PCBs or products containing PCBs for the purpose of the research referred to in subsection (1) at a facility that meets the requirement set out in paragraph (1)(a) or (b).

Marginal note:Electrical capacitor

9 A person may offer for sale, sell and use an electrical capacitor containing PCBs if the electrical capacitor

• (a) is an integral part of a consumer product;

• (b) is fusion sealed; and

• (c) would be rendered inoperable and irreparable if the PCBs were removed from it.

Marginal note:Aircraft, ships, trains and other vehicles

10 A person may export, import, offer for sale, sell and use for transportation purposes aircraft, ships, trains and other vehicles that contain PCBs only in their communication, navigation or electronic control equipment or cables.

Marginal note:Colouring pigment

• 11 (1) A person may manufacture, export, import, offer for sale, sell, process and use a colouring pigment containing PCBs produced incidentally if the concentration of the PCBs is less than 50 mg/kg.

• Marginal note:Annual average concentration

  (2) Despite subsection (1), the annual average concentration of PCBs produced incidentally in colouring pigment that a person may manufacture, export, import, offer for sale, sell, process and use shall not exceed 25 mg/kg.

Marginal note:Destruction

12 A person may process PCBs or products containing PCBs for the purpose of destroying PCBs or recovering PCBs for the purpose of destroying them in an authorized facility that is authorized for that purpose.

Marginal note:Solid products

• 13 (1) A person may manufacture solid products containing PCBs in a concentration of less than 50 mg/kg using bulk solid products containing PCBs in a concentration of less than 50 mg/kg, and may use those solid products.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) Subsection (1) only applies to the manufacture of the types of products that are manufactured before September 5, 2008.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) No person shall offer for sale or sell the products manufactured in accordance with subsection (1) unless the products are used in the course of a commercial or industrial activity.

Marginal note:Cables, pipelines, electrical capacitors and other equipment

• 14 (1) A person may use the following products containing PCBs:

  • (a) cables, if they remain in place on September 5, 2008;

  • (b) pipelines that transport natural gas, petroleum or petroleum products and any associated equipment that is in contact with the natural gas, petroleum or petroleum products if the pipelines and the equipment remain in place on September 5, 2008;

  • (c) fusion sealed capacitors if they are used in relation to communication equipment or electronic control equipment; and

  • (d) the following equipment containing PCBs in a concentration of less than 50 mg/kg if the equipment is used for the purpose for which it was manufactured:

    • (i) electrical capacitors, light ballasts, electrical transformers and their auxiliary electrical equipment, including pole-top electrical transformers and their pole-top auxiliary electrical equipment,

    • (ii) electromagnets that are not used in the handling of food, feed or any additive to food or feed, and

    • (iii) heat transfer equipment, hydraulic equipment, vapour diffusion pumps and bridge bearings.

• Marginal note:Electrical capacitors

  (2) A person may import fusion sealed capacitors containing PCBs for use in relation to communication tactical equipment or electronic control tactical equipment.

Marginal note:Liquids for servicing — concentration less than 2 mg/kg

• 15 (1) A person may use liquids containing PCBs in a concentration of less than 2 mg/kg for the purpose of servicing equipment containing PCBs.

• Marginal note:Liquids for servicing — concentration of 500 mg/kg or more

  (2) A person may use liquids containing PCBs in a concentration of 500 mg/kg or more for the purpose of servicing equipment containing PCBs in a concentration of 500 mg/kg or more until December 31, 2009.

End-of-use dates and Extension

Marginal note:Equipment — subparagraphs 14(1)(d)(i) to (iii)

• 16 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (2.1), a person may use the equipment referred to in subparagraphs 14(1)(d)(i) to (iii) until the following dates if the equipment is in use on September 5, 2008:

  • (a) in the case of equipment containing PCBs in a concentration of 500 mg/kg or more, December 31, 2009; and

  • (b) in the case of equipment containing PCBs in a concentration of at least 50 mg/kg but less than 500 mg/kg,

    • (i) December 31, 2009, if the equipment is located at a drinking water treatment plant or food or feed processing plant, in a child care facility, preschool, primary school, secondary school, hospital or senior citizens’ care facility or on the property on which the plant or facility is located and within 100 m of it, and

    • (ii) December 31, 2025, if the equipment is located at any other place.

• Marginal note:Light ballasts and pole-top electrical transformers

  (2) A person may use the following equipment containing PCBs in a concentration of 50 mg/kg or more until December 31, 2025, if the equipment is in use on September 5, 2008:

  • (a) light ballasts; and

  • (b) pole-top electrical transformers and their pole-top auxiliary electrical equipment.

• Marginal note:Current transformers and other equipment

  (2.1) A person may, from January 1, 2015 until December 31, 2025, use any current transformers, potential transformers, circuit breakers, reclosers and bushings that are located at an electrical generation, transmission or distribution facility and contain PCBs in a concentration of 500 mg/kg or more if that equipment is in use on September 5, 2008.

• Marginal note:Liquid — authorized concentration

  (3) A person may use a liquid containing PCBs in a concentration of 2 mg/kg or more but less than 50 mg/kg in equipment until the day on which the liquid is removed from the equipment.

Marginal note:Extension of end-of-use date

• 17 (1) Despite subsection 15(2), paragraph 16(1)(a) and subparagraph 16(1)(b)(i), a person may use the equipment and the liquids used for servicing that equipment, referred to in those provisions, until the date set out in an extension granted by the Minister under subsection (2) for that equipment and those liquids.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) The Minister shall, on receiving a written application containing the information set out in subsection (3), grant an extension up to the date applied for but no later than December 31, 2014, if either of the following conditions are met:

  • (a) the equipment is being replaced with equipment that is engineered to order, and

    • (i) it is not technically feasible to replace the equipment on or before December 31, 2009,

    • (ii) the applicant is taking all necessary measures to minimize or eliminate any harmful effect of the PCBs in the equipment on the environment and on human health,

    • (iii) a plan has been prepared, along with timelines, to end the use of the equipment by the date applied for,

    • (iv) a plan has been prepared for inspecting the equipment on a monthly basis for the period of the extension for damage that could lead to the release of PCBs, and

    • (v) the equipment bears the label required under section 29; or

  • (b) the equipment is located at a facility that is scheduled for permanent closure on or before December 31, 2014, and

    • (i) the applicant is taking all necessary measures to minimize or eliminate any harmful effect of the PCBs in the equipment on the environment and on human health,

    • (ii) a plan has been prepared, along with timelines, to end the use of the equipment by the date applied for,

    • (iii) a plan has been prepared for inspecting the equipment on a monthly basis, for the period of the extension, for damage that could lead to the release of PCBs, and

    • (iv) the equipment bears the label required under section 29.

• Marginal note:Information

  (3) The application shall contain the following:

  • (a) the name, civic and mailing addresses, telephone number, fax number, if any, and e-mail address, if any, of the applicant and of any person authorized to act on the applicant’s behalf;

  • (b) a technical description of the equipment which is the subject of the application, including

    • (i) the type and function of the equipment,

    • (ii) the quantity of liquid containing PCBs that is in the equipment and the quantity of liquid needed for servicing that equipment, expressed in litres,

    • (iii) the concentration of PCBs in the liquid, expressed in milligrams of PCBs per kilogram of liquid,

    • (iv) the quantity of PCBs in the liquid that is in the equipment, expressed in kilograms, and

    • (v) the name-plate description, if any, and the manufacturer’s serial number, if any;

  • (c) the unique identification number that is on the label required under section 29;

  • (d) the name, if any, and civic address of the facility where the equipment is located, or, if there is no civic address, the location using the owner’s site identification system, and the function and technical description of the facility;

  • (e) information demonstrating that

    • (i) it is not technically feasible to replace the equipment on or before December 31, 2009, or

    • (ii) the facility where the equipment is located is scheduled for permanent closure on or before December 31, 2014;

  • (f) information demonstrating that the applicant is taking all necessary measures to minimize or eliminate any harmful effect of the PCBs that are contained in the equipment on the environment and on human health;

  • (g) the plan, along with timelines, for ending the use of the equipment; and

  • (h) the plan for inspecting the equipment.

• Marginal note:Notice of change to information

  (4) The applicant shall notify the Minister in writing of any change to the information provided under subsection (3) within 30 days after the day on which the change occurs.

• Marginal note:False or misleading information

  (5) The Minister shall refuse to grant an extension if the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has provided false or misleading information in support of its application.

• Marginal note:Revocation

  (6) The Minister shall revoke the extension if

  • (a) the requirements set out in subsection (2) are no longer met during the period of the extension; or

  • (b) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has provided false or misleading information to the Minister in support of its application.

• Marginal note:Reasons for revocation

  (7) The Minister shall not revoke the extension unless the Minister provides the applicant with

  • (a) written reasons for the revocation; and

  • (b) an opportunity to be heard, by written representation, in respect of the revocation.