PCB storage

The PCB Regulations establish specific storage requirements for products containing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in a concentration of 50 mg/kg or more when they are no longer in use and when there are one of:

• 100 L or more of liquids containing PCBs
• 100 kg or more of solids containing PCBs
• lesser quantities than the above if the product contains 1 kg or more of pure PCBs

The above quantities must include the total amount of all products containing PCBs that are no longer in use at a specific site. 

Prohibition against storage

• Equipment or products containing PCBs, other than light ballasts, cannot be stored at prescribed locations. See the “Prescribed locations” factsheet for more information

Non-application

Storage requirements do not apply to the following products containing PCBs:

• solid or liquid products that are used or processed daily
• 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 they were in place on September 5, 2008
• cables that were in place on September 5, 2008

PCB storage site requirements

• All entrances must be locked or guarded, allowing only authorized personnel to enter
• Liquid or solid products containing PCBs must be either stored in a building, room, shipping container, or other enclosed structure, or stored in an area that is enclosed by a woven mesh wire fence, or wall with similar security characteristics. The fence or wall must be at least 1.83 m high
• Equipment containing PCB liquids or solids must be stored in drums or containers*
• Equipment and containers containing PCB liquids must be stored on a floor or surface that is made of steel, concrete or any other similar material that has curbing or sides
  • Curbing or sides for one piece of equipment or one container must be able to contain 125% of the volume of the PCB liquid stored
  • Curbing or sides for more than one piece of equipment or more than one container must be able to contain the greater volume of the following options:
    • twice the amount of PCB liquid that is stored in the largest piece of equipment or container or
    • 25% of the total volume of PCB liquid stored on the floor surface

If the material of the floor, surface, curbing or sides is capable of absorbing any PCB liquid or products containing PCBs, it must be sealed with an impermeable, durable, PCB-resistant coating. In addition, any openings, such as drains or sumps, must be either closed and sealed, or connected to a drainage system suitable for liquid dangerous goods that terminates in a location where the dangerous goods could be contained and recovered, and would not create a fire hazard or health and safety risk.

*The requirements for containers used to store PCBs and equipment containing PCBs are outlined below:

Maximum storage periods

Once PCBs or products containing PCBs are no longer in use, the person who owns,  controls, or possesses them has 30 days to either send them to an authorized destruction facility, or put them into PCB storage.

Note: If the PCBs or products containing them are remote from a roadway system, or if there is no access to a roadway system, the PCBs may be stored at a PCB storage site as soon as feasible but no later than one year after the day on which they are no longer processed daily or used. Best management practices shall be used until the time that they are stored at a PCB storage site.

Below is a summary of maximum storage periods for PCBs or products containing PCBs based on the following location types:

• A facility that is not an authorized transfer facility or destruction facility
  • Maximum storage period: One year beginning on the day storage commences
• An authorized transfer facility
  • Maximum storage period: One year beginning on the day of arrival at the transfer facility*
• An authorized destruction facility
  • Maximum storage period: Two years beginning on the day of arrival at the destruction facility

*If PCBs or products containing PCBs are transferred from one transfer facility to another transfer facility, the storage period begins when they are received at the first transfer facility. 

Exceptions to maximum storage periods

Exceptions apply to:

• solids and liquids containing PCBs in a concentration of 50 mg/kg or more that resulted from environmental remediation work and that are stored on site, if the owner of the land where the PCBs are located:
  • submits the required information (outlined under subsection 22(2)* of the regulations) to the Minister at least 30 days before the storage of the PCBs and
  • notifies the Minister in writing at least 30 days of the changes to be made before making any changes to the information referred to above
• equipment that contains radioactive PCBs whose activity concentration exceeds their unconditional clearance level, as defined in section 1 of the Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations
• military equipment whose use was previously permitted under section 15.2 if an extension for the storage is granted by the Minister (application requirements are outlined under subsection 22(4))

Note: Exceptions also apply to liquids referred to in subsection 15(2) or for which an extension has been granted under subsection 17. These liquids are not presented in the list of above, as they must already be destroyed in accordance with the timelines of the regulations.

  *Information under subsection 22(2) must be submitted using the Environment and Climate Change Canada online reporting system, ePCB, accessible through the Single Window Information Manager.

PCB owner/operator responsibilities

Site maintenance and inspection

Structural components of storage sites, PCB equipment, containers used for storing PCBs, fire extinguishers, suppression systems and alarms, and PCB clean-up materials must be kept in good condition and must be inspected:

• each month or
• at intervals of more than one month, with Minister’s approval due to its remote location or
• at intervals of less than one month if more frequent inspections are necessary

Should any of the above-mentioned items be damaged, they must be repaired or replaced immediately, and any contaminated areas must be decontaminated accordingly.

Records and reports

The person who owns or stores PCBs or products containing PCBs, must prepare and submit annual reports using the electronic PCB reporting system (ePCB) through the Single Window Information Manager; and keep records of inspections and other activities for five years at the PCB storage site (or at the owner or operator’s principal place of business if the PCB storage site is no longer active).

Inspection records must include:

• a list of all items inspected
• a description of any deficiencies that were found
• a description of measures taken to remedy the deficiencies found
• the inspectors’ names and inspection dates

For more information, see the “PCB reporting and record keeping” factsheet.

Fire protection and emergency procedures

The owner of stored PCBs or products containing PCBs, must:

• update and test the fire protection and emergency procedures plan each year
• keep the plan at the PCB storage site and at their principal place of business
• make the plan readily available to persons who implement the plan and to the local fire department or to the officer appointed by the provincial Fire Marshall if there is no local fire department or to any other local authority responsible for fire protection
• ensure that all employees who are authorized to enter the storage site are familiar with:
  • the contents of the fire protection and emergency plan
  • the hazards of PCBs and
  • the use of protective equipment and clothing and the PCB clean-up procedures
• have a fully operational fire alarm system that has a fire suppression system, as well as fire extinguishers, which must be up to National Fire Code standards (note: this is not a requirement if the indoor PCB storage site is a shipping container)
• store absorbent materials for clean-up near the PCB storage site

Disclaimer

The guidance contained in this page should be used for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal guidance, since it does not reflect all the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) or the PCB Regulations. Thus, should there be any discrepancy between this factsheet and the Act or the regulations, the Act and the regulations will prevail.