Environment Ministry to Create PCB Waste Database

Japan's Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is working to create a database on polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) waste to manage information on storage and disposal of those toxic substances. The database will be made available on the ministry¡Çs website.

Using the database, the MOE aims to accurately ascertain the status of storage and disposal of PCB waste, and to promote proper disposal. In addition, the ministry hopes disclosure of the information will enhance transparency, and motivate businesses to properly store and promptly dispose of the substances. The original data were submitted to prefectures and municipalities by waste storage businesses based on Article 8 of the Law Concerning Special Measures Against PCB Waste.

Since PCBs are water-insoluble and have excellent insulating capacity with a high boiling point, they gained widespread use as insulating oil in transformers and condensers, and as machine lubricants. However, the outbreak of a poisoning incident caused by the company Kanemi Soko in 1968, in which many people became victims of cooking oil contaminated with PCBs, triggered deep concern over their toxicity to the human body and the environment. The production of PCBs was banned in 1972 and they were designated as industrial waste subject to special controls in 1992. PCBs are highly persistent, however, and still reside widely in the environment.



Posted: 2003/03/24 04:08:46 PM
Japanese version