PCBs in buildings and contaminated sites

'PCBs in buildings and contaminated sites' is a tentative item on the programme for the Sixth International PCB Workshop in 2010.

In many countries, until the early 1970s, PCBs were used in building components such as sealants, acoustic boards, flooring materials and ‘thermopane’ windows. Concentrations of PCBs in indoor air have been shown to be boosted by PCBs in construction materials, which could thus affect human PCB exposure. Sweden has initiated a nationwide inventory of PCBs in residential and commercial buildings and ruled that those found to contain PCBs above a defined limit must be remediated by 2013 at the latest. Owing to their PCB levels, many industrial sites have also been classified as ‘contaminated’. Some of these sites are now undergoing remediation, but this will take decades, rather than years. 

We welcome reports on PCB inventories in buildings and contaminated sites, and on the effects of human exposure via indoor air and from contaminated sites. Remediation of buildings and contaminated sites calls for development of practical tools and techniques that may be of interest to many countries. We also hope to attract presentations on the legal basis for such actions.

Contact: Niklas Johansson, niklas.johansson(a)naturvardsverket.se