On 04 May 2021, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issued a certification that the Non-Combustion Treatment Facility for Persistent Organic Pollutants (Non-Com POPs) of the Natural Resources Development Corporation is the only facility in the Philippines registered as Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD) facility capable of the treatment of decommissioned transformers and capacitors containing PCB-contaminated oil and PCB-contaminated equipment using environmentally sound technology compliant with all existing laws, rules and regulations. The certification was issued in line with the Republic Act 6969, also known as "Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990". The act was carried out to control, supervise and regulate activities on toxic chemicals and hazardous waste. At present, the Facility has provided end-to-end services to PCB owners at PhP305/kg and an additional PhP50/kg for decanting if deemed needed (price of treatment is based on Main land Luzon with no inter-island transport needed). Over the past years, even during the pandemic, the Facility has undertaken upgrades in the operations through training and knowledge-sharing initiatives, as well as improvements in the processes and equipment used to provide better services to its partners and clients from all over the Philippines. To help with the effort to meet the Philippine commitment to the Stockholm Convention to eliminate PCBs in the Philippines, fill in your PCB inventory details here and a project development officer will get in touch with you soon. Download the PCB Inventory form here.
Background
One of the dirty dozens is the Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) found in old electrical transformers, capacitors, fluorescent ballasts, liquid-filled circuit breakers, and voltage regulators that act as coolants. These pollutants cause harmful effects to public health and the environment. Among its many effects are weakened immune system, damaged nervous system, birth defects, and cancer. Being a prime mover in linking to the development of industries in the environment and natural resources sector, NRDC bridges the solution that improves the air quality through environmentally sound means of eliminating persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as the PCBs.
Description
The Non-Com POPs Facility is the largest and the only PCB treatment facility in the Philippines. It uses technology that complies with Article 6 of the Stockholm Convention and the Republic Act. No. 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999). This is implemented jointly by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR. The Facility is used with a sustainable, ecological, and socially-responsible approach through:
Mandate
The Stockholm Convention on POPs is a global treaty that invites nations to protect human health and the environment from harmful chemicals, especially those that exist for long periods, are widely distributed, and bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife. It targets to phase out equipment containing PCBs until 2025 and to treat and eliminate recovered PCBs by 2025. As a signatory of this treaty in 2004, the Philippine government has issued a Chemical Control Order (CCO) banning the production, importation, sale, transfer, distribution and use of PCBs in open-ended, partially and totally enclosed applications. Given a 10-year grace period, PCBs are no longer allowed used and stored. Read more about the Stockholm Convention here.
Removal Process
The Facility operates in a closed-loop system to prevent the uncontrolled release of by-product POPs and other air pollutants. It treats PCB oil and transformers below 10,000 parts per million (ppm).
Actual photos of PCB before and after the treatment.
Services Offered
Why the Non-Com POPs Facility?
Additional Resource
Download Project Briefer here
All PCB owners are encouraged to sign up for the immediate treatment of their PCB inventories, in accordance with their PCB Management Plan. Please contact the PCB Management Team of NRDC at 02 8568 2722 or email us at pcbmanagement.nrdc@gmail.com to schedule your PCB treatment service.
Loading of PCB Oil to Storage Tank
Pre-Treatment of PCB Oil from Storage Tank
Loading in the Reactor
Transfer from Reactor to Disposal Tank
PCB Oil
Maintenance Work
Decanting
Hauling
PCB
PCBs can build up in animals over time and along the food chain. PCBs are found in the fatty tissues of animals living in water or on land, particularly those at the top of the food chain. Thus humans can also accumulate PCBs from the food they eat. Some animal species, including insects and other invertebrates, birds, fish, and mammals, can break down or trans​form certain PCBs within their bodies. (Source: www.greenfacts.org)