Phase I: Evaluation of the Current Status of the Problem with Respect to Environmental Impact and Development of Proposals for Priority Remedial Actions: The main goal of phase 1 of the multilateral PCB project is the evaluation of the current status of the PCB problem in Russia. The objectives of sub-activities under phase 1 of the project included: - Assessment of the overall production of PCB in the former USSR and Russian Federation, and the calculation of a mass-balance of the amount produced. - Estimation of the total volume of PCB still in use, in equipment and in wastes located within the territories of Russian Federation. - Preparation of an inventory of environmental releases from industrial uses and waste. - Development of proposals for priority remedial actions. Project results are presented in relevant publications (see below).
Compilation of data concerning PCBs in past and current use, storage, contamination of production sites, etc. in the former Soviet Union
To ensure maximum completeness and reliability in assessing the total amount of PCB, and preparing the inventory of PCB containing equipment and waste in Russia, two independent sources of data collection were employed. The first were the territorial environmental protection authorities (covering the 89 administrative territories - republics, krai, oblast, autonomous okrug - of Russian Federation) which collected information on a regional basis and submitted this to the State Committee for Environmental Protection. The second source of information was data collected by relevant ministries from industrial enterprises located throughout Russia in which inventory activities were conducted. These requests for information on production, use and storage of PCB, were sent to the following ministries and organisations connected with various industrial activities: the State Committee for Statistics, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Fuel and Energy, Ministry of Defence, the electric power network and several other companies. The electric power sector in Russia is divided into a number of enterprises responsible for production of electricity and the distribution networks. These are again divided into both federal and regional levels of subordination. The electric power network consists of the ‘Russian joint-stock company of joint electric energy systems’ (RAO ‘ES of Russia’) and 76 regional energy systems, all of whom were sent the request for information on PCBs. For techni! cal reasons, equipment with PCB is not used in electricity production (only transformers filled with mineral transformer oil are used in electricity production). In the distribution network, however, capacitors containing PCB are used. The following industrial branches (according to the State Committee for Statistics classification) were excluded as not being users of equipment containing significant amounts of PCB: - Food industry; - Light industry; - Production of building materials. The Ministry of Defence officially replied that it would not take part in the inventory of PCB or PCB containing equipment because PCB containing equipment and materials are not in use anymore. For this reason, the use and disposal of PCB in the military sector was not assessed in the present project. In the major industrial sectors: chemical and petro-chemical sector, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgical industries, mechanical engineering, and timber (including pulp and paper) industry, some 300 enterprises, which may utilise high power capacitors and transformers were selected by the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation. The same number of enterprises was selected in the electric energy sector. According to the State Committee for Statistics, the number of large enterprises in Russia in 1997 was 265, and the total number of enterprises included in the inventory (600) is approximately twice this number. As of December 1999, data were submitted by 79 administrative territories of the Russian Federation to the State Committee for Environmental Protection, and information for the inventory was supplied to the ministries by a total of 950 large- and medium-sized enterprises. This, according to expert estimation, covered approximately 80% of the total number of enterprises which may have PCB or PCB containing equipment. The inventory conducted by territorial environmental protection authorities incorporates information concerning presence of capacitors and transformers in all enterprises, also including the food industry, light industry and the building industry.
The project is a multilateral cooperation. Phase 1 was supported by all 8 Arctic countries and the Netherlands. Russian contributors included: - State Committee for Environmental Protection - State Committee for Statistics - Ministry of Economy - Ministry of Fuel and Energy - Ministry of Defence - relevant industrial enterprises, the electric power network, and several other companies located throughout Russia - Centre For International Projects (CIP) Moscow
Arctic Council Action Plan (ACAP)
The project is a multilateral cooperation. Phase 1 was supported by all 8 Arctic countries and the Netherlands.