(VEN) – Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is an ideal additive being used in insulation oil, hydraulic lifting oil and some other applications to increase material properties such as insulation and heat dissipation.
PCB safe destruction may be reached by 2028 When entering the human body, PCBs will accumulate in the fatty tissue and be able to put people at risk of mutagenic and highly carcinogenic effects, and is considered a hidden killer.
PCBs are no longer produced globally but still exist in previously produced devices and materials. Workers for enterprises in the fields of power generation and transmission, waste transportation and disposal, and oil recycling face a higher risk of PCB exposure. PCB may be discharged or leak out into the environment through transport, runoff, evaporation, improper handling of PCB contaminated materials and equipment. In the environment, PCB will accumulate in the human body via food, causing acute and chronic effects on the human health, nervous system, reproductive system, digestive system, and immune system, causing tumors and skin diseases.
According to Vietnam PCB Management Project Counselor Do Thanh Bai, businesses and workers ought to keep up with strict regulations on maintenance of devices containing PCB oil; and transportation, recycling, storage and processing of PCB contained waste and oil so as to prevent PCB oil and waste leakages or spillages into the environment, which may cause unpredictable consequences for the environment and people. PCB workers must be equipped with adequate protective clothing and working skills. The transportation and storage of PCB contained must comply with the Governmental Decree 104/2009/ND-CP dated November 9, 2009 and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Circular 12/2011/TT-BTNMT dated April 14, 2011 on temporary storage or transport of hazardous wastes.
Many cases of PCB exposure have occurred in industrial enterprises. In Taiwan in 1979, for example, a negligent worker let PCB enter rice bran oil, poisoning 2,000 people; and 25 liters of PCB contained transformer oil leaked out into a feed recyclable waste collection pit in Belgium in 1999, causing the Belgian government to spend more than US$1.6 billion to deal with the consequences.
According to Vietnam PCB Management Project, businesses are only allowed to temporary store waste and materials containing PCB and must seek proper treatment quickly. PCB liquid wastes must be stored safely in accordance with Circular 12/2011/TT-BTNMT and in warehouses meeting TCVN 4317:86 standards and in temporary storage tanks with warning signs and meeting TCVN 6707:2009 standards. All PCB contained waste landfill operations and disposal of equipment containing PCB material are illegal. All owners of PCB contained devices and materials must be responsible for the PCB management.
Vietnam PCB Management Board, Vietnam Electricity Group and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have coordinated in conducting an enterprise level PCB inventory, and based on which, they may devise and apply effective PCB management measures, strive to eliminate the use of PCB in devices and materials by 2020, and reach PCB safe destruction by 2028./.
By Thu Huong
Đăng ký: VietNam News
