Removal of toxic chemicals removed in Lebanon

Start & End Date: 2015-2021

Country/Countries: Lebanon

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: Global Environment Facility

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic substances composed of organic (carbon-based) compounds and mixtures. They pose adverse effects to the environment and public health and can cause damage to immune, respiratory and reproductive systems. POPs include industrial chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used as heat exchange fluids in electric transformers and capacitors, and as additives in paint, carbonless copy paper, and plastics; and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs) found in pesticides. In Lebanon, PCBs are mainly encountered in the electric power sector. Prior to the mid-1990s, they were widely used in power transformers and capacitors in power stations, substations and distribution transformers. Recognizing the importance of the management of POPs, the Government of Lebanon signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2002, which aims to phase out and eliminate the production and use of these chemicals.

In 2015, Lebanon sought financial support from the Global Environment Fund (GEF) through the World Bank to implement a project aimed at eliminating PCB contaminated power transformers in an environmentally sound manner. The US$2.5 million 6-year project (May 2015 – March 2021) was executed in close partnership and collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, Electricity of Lebanon (Électricité du Liban) and local partners. The Ministry of Environment ensured proper coordination and execution through a Project Management Unit responsible for supervising all procurement, financial management, environmental and social aspects, and for the monitoring and evaluation of project activities. Given the risks associated with high content PCB equipment, a country-wide inventory of power equipment was conducted, based on which PCB equipment, oil, soil, and waste were disposed. The project also helped provide capacity building to various stakeholders.

Despite implementation challenges, the project succeeded in surveying 23,044 assets[1] and in identifying carcinogenic POPs. Samples of oil were screened nationally, whereas the confirmatory analysis was done in an accredited international laboratory using gas chromatography. A mobile phone application was also developed to collect information and photos of the transformers being surveyed. The inventory created and established a full-fledged database of assets being assessed, recording all collected information, photos, and results. It also paved the way for the development of a national prioritization plan with actions to be done in the short, medium, and long-term, spanning ten years for PCB management to meet the phase-out obligations under the Stockholm Convention. The project was able to dispose of a total of 389 tons of hazardous waste in two batches, one in 2016 and another in 2020. This effort involved an environmentally sound removal, draining, packaging, handling, transport, and disposal process of 282 PCBs from out-of-service transformers, and 606 PCBs from capacitors. The PCB waste was shipped to a licensed facility in France for destruction. The shipment of this type of hazardous waste was fully done in accordance with the Basel Convention, an international environmental treaty controlling the transboundary movement of hazardous waste and their disposal.