1. Shanks

2. The Management of PCBs in the Electrical Sector

3. What are PCBs?How are they harmful?How can we dispose of them safely?

4. X X X X X X X X X X What are PCBs? (Where X is a chlorine or hydrogen atom) They are represented by the formula. C12 H10 - nCln where n is the number of atoms of Chlorine present in the molecule.

5. What are PCBs? • It is estimated that between 1930 and 1980 approximately 1,200,000 tonnes of PCB were produced. • They were sold under many names - Pyroclor, Arochlor, Clophen, Phenclor • Excellent stability under temperature. • Used as cooling liquids in electrical transformers and capacitors.

6. How are they harmful? • The exceptional stability of PCBs leads to one main problem - they do not biodegrade. • They accumulate in the environment.

7. How are they harmful? • Approximately 400,000 tonnes of PCBs have been released into our environment through accidental spillage and deliberate disposal at sea.

8. How are they harmful? Birds Atmosphere Rivers and lakes Man Poor Management of PCBs Oceans and Marine Life Plants and Animals

9. How are they harmful? • They accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals including man and in some cases can result in damage to:- • Immune system • Liver • Nervous system • They are also believed to cause:- • Dermatitis • Respiratory problems • Cancer

10. How can we dispose of them? SAFELY

11. Safe disposal of PCBs • First discover the extent of the problem. • Test kits. • Gas chromatography.

12. Safe disposal of PCBs • The US EPA has published the following guidance for electrical equipment. • <50ppm PCB………………..PCB free • >50ppm to <500ppm PCB…PCB contaminated • >500ppm……………….……PCB

13. Safe disposal of PCBs • Disposal options. • Solvent washing • Deep burial • Plasma • Absorption onto activated carbon • High Temperature Incineration

14. Safe disposal of PCBs • High Temperature Incineration (HTI) • Recommended by • World Health Organisation • US EPA • UK Environment Agency.

15. Shanks - who are we? • Shanks was first registered as a private company in 1924. • Grown rapidly in waste management from mid ’80’s both organically and by acquisition • Continuing growth in the UK and abroad

16. Shanks - Facts and figures • International Waste Management Company • Group turnover £315m / US$ 425m (1998/99) (FTSE 250) • c.4200 employees • Offices in UK and across Europe • World-wide network of agents. • Over 13000 customers.

17. Shanks- Specialist facilities • Our facilities process > 7 million tonnes of waste each year • Largest Independent waste management company in Europe • Landfill sites generate enough electricity to power around 80,000 homes

18. Incineration • 2 x 35,000t high temperature incinerators in the UK. • Capability to handle wide range of waste streams. • Solids in drums and bulk • Liquids in drums and bulk • Direct injection • Odorous • Low level radioactive • Pesticides • PCBs

19. Incineration • 60,000t fluidised bed incinerator being built for the disposal of meat and bone-meal (MBM) • 8MWpower generation

23. Incineration • Static Hearth and Rotary Kiln • Decontaminate metalwork • Recycle Steel, Aluminium, Copper • Temperature ~ 1120oC • Natural Gas used as fuel • Residence time for gases ~ 6.5 seconds • Destruction efficiency is > 99.99995%

25. Control Systems Distributed Control System (DCS) • Direct monitoring • Operation of the incineration process Essential Shut-Down (ESD) • Monitors key safety parameters • Controlled shut-downs

26. Distributed Control System • Windows based • Interprets and presents signals from site • Two central computers - Distributed Processor Units (DPU’s) • Fibre optic cable highway link

28. Essential Shut-Down System • Hard wire solid state logic control • Physical circuits not based on software • Controlled shutdowns and start-up • First of its kind in the hazardous waste industry

29. Accreditation • Fully accredited to :- • Quality - BS EN 9002 since 1993 • Environment - ISO 14001 since 1999 • Safety Awards • RoSPA Gold Medal awards for 4th successive year • Awarded 5* by British Safety Council

30. Offsite Services • Field Services provide expertise in clean up projects world wide. • Trained chemists provide an international repackaging / collection service. • Comply with all relevant national and international regulations for the movement of hazardous wastes.

31. On-site Project Management • Step 1: Full scope of the project defined • Step 2: Development of Task Based Risk Assessment • Step 3: Development of a complete Technical Proposal

32. On-site Project Management • Step 4: Costing of Technical Proposal & Generation of Financial proposal • Step 5: Execution of Proposal • Step 6: Review

33. The Result • Safe workforce • Safe general public • Permanent elimination of the problem • A cleaner environment

34. Brazil Argentina Venezuela Spain Italy Mexico Thailand Kuwait Kenya Madagascar Uganda Mozambique Zanzibar Malawi Zambia Yemen South Africa Shanks Track Record

35. Questions? Shanks Chemical Services Division 2 Lower Bank View Liverpool Merseyside UK Tel (44) 151 933 9988 E-mail mike.bowen@shanks.co.uk www. shanks.co.uk