MINSK, 4 July (BelTA) – Belarus intends to phase out the equipment, which contains polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) by 2025, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry website.
Since 2004 Belarus has been party to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and has been persistent in honoring its commitments. In line with the convention Belarus is to stop using all the equipment, which contains polychlorinated biphenyl by 2025. Belarus' entire territory is to be cleansed from PCB plastic by 2028.
The subprogram on handling persistent organic pollutants of the government program on environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources provides for developing industry-wise plans for taking measures to decommission, uninstall, and store PCB-containing equipment in an environmentally friendly manner. The plans are supposed to be developed by organizations subordinate to the Industry Ministry, the Transport and Communications Ministry, the Energy Ministry, the Communications and Informatization Ministry, the Agriculture and Food Ministry, the Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim, the oblast administrations, the Minsk city administration, and other owners.
The Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry would like to remind owners of PCB-containing equipment that all their PCB-containing capacitors and 60% of the PCB-containing transformers must be decommissioned by the end of 2020. Measures must be taken to decontaminate PCB-containing waste abroad. The owners are advised to keep in mind that prices for such services on foreign markets are rising as the deadline set by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants draws near.
