Management and disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): consultation

About this Consultation

We are updating Scottish Government domestic legislation and wish to consult relevant stakeholders in the process.

The management and disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Scotland is currently carried out in line with the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 ("the current regulations"). Following a recast of the European Union legislation on Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, it is necessary to comply with a lower threshold for PCB contamination, with 0.005% PCBs by weight and a volume of 0.05 dm³ the new maximum acceptable level. Any equipment which does not comply with the new thresholds is required to be removed from use by 31st December 2025 under EU law.

The title of the new proposed regulations is the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.

The proposed regulations aim to ensure the protection of human health and the environment from potential long term and serious consequences associated with uncontrolled dispersive releases of PCBs from ageing electrical equipment, and that Scotland continues to comply with EU law.

As the changes resulting from these regulations are of a technical and specialist nature, we expect this consultation to be of interest to a limited group of stakeholders, many of which we have had early engagement with. We are therefore holding a consultation of 8 weeks.

This consultation document is published alongside the draft Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 and a business regulatory impact assessment. These have been uploaded as supporting files.

Why are we consulting

The purpose of this consultation is to seek the views of interested parties on the Scottish Government's proposal to the current regulations. This is also an important part of the legislative process in order to ensure we are able to draw on the knowledge and experience of stakeholders before finalising the regulations.