Report on the regional workshop on environmentally sound management of PCBs – towards the 2025 and 2028 targets.
The environmentally sound management of chemicals, in particular polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), is a major concern worldwide, and in Africa in particular. Indeed, African countries are pooling their efforts to better manage PCBs. It is in this context that a three (3) day workshop was organized in Dakar, at the Hotel Ndiambour, from June 11 to 13, 2024, under the leadership of the Regional Centre of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions for French-speaking African countries (CRCBS-AF), in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
The workshop was attended by a representative of the Ministry of the Environment, the Director of the Regional Centre for the Basel and Stockholm Conventions, the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, experts from various countries, the World Bank, over 20 African countries, online participants and observers including the NGO PAN Africa.
The overall objective of the workshop is to develop a synergistic approach to the environmentally sound management of PCBs by 2025 and 2028. To achieve this objective, several points were reviewed, and representatives from each country presented the current state of PCB management in their respective countries. This led to the following points being addressed:
- Production and distribution of PCB-containing materials,
- Inventory of transformers, capacitors and PCBs,
- Life expectancy of transformers and capacitors,
- Decontamination of transformers and capacitors,
- Provision of decontamination equipment to avoid transport to Europe or other countries with the most advanced decontamination facilities,
- Reuse or final disposal of transformers, depending on the length of time they have been in service and the degree of contamination,
- Retrofilling or flushing as a method of decontamination,
- Technical support or training for people who are supposed to work with PCBs,
- The question and mechanism of funding from the World Bank through the GEF for inventories, decontamination, renewal or disposal,
- Compliance with standardized reporting models for different countries,
- Strengthening the regulatory and institutional framework, followed by strict enforcement.
In addition, the World Bank is also available to provide countries with funding to combat PCBs in particular and hazardous waste in general.
In conclusion, the Secretariat expressed its satisfaction with the quality of the work carried out during the workshop. It also expressed its support for everything that had been worked out, in particular by the working groups, to tackle the problem of PCBs, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
