Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of PCBs

Engr. Hassan Musa                                                              Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment

Nigeria is committed to and advancing an effective PCBs Phase-out programme delivery, in line with Part II of Annex A to the Stockholm Convention.

PCBs as a family is listed in Annex A on Elimination, which stipulates that its production is prohibited. It also stipulates that each Party shall:-
(a) with regard to the elimination of the use of polychlorinated biphenyls in equipment (e.g. transformers, capacitors and other receptacles containing liquid stocks) by 2025, subject to review by the Conference of the Parties, take action in accordance with the following priorities:
(i) per cent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 5 litres;
(ii) make determined efforts to identify, label and remove from use equipment containing greater than 0.05 per cent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 5 litres;
(iii) endeavour to identify and remove from use equipment containing greater than 0.005 percent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 0.05 litres;
(b) Consistent with the priorities in subparagraph (a), promote the following measures to reduce exposures and risk to control the use of polychlorinated biphenyls:-
(i) Use only in intact and non-leaking equipment and only in areas where the risk from environmental release can be minimised and quickly remedied;
(ii) Not use in equipment in areas associated with the production or processing of food or feed;
(iii) When used in populated areas, including schools and hospitals, all reasonable measures to protect from electrical failure which could result in a fi re, and regular inspection of equipment for leaks;
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph 2 of Article 3, ensure that equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls, as described in subparagraph (a), shall not be exported or imported except for the purpose of environmentally sound waste management;
(d) Except for maintenance and servicing operations, not allow recovery for the purpose of reuse in other equipment of liquids with polychlorinated biphenyls content above 0.005 per cent;
(e) Make determined efforts designed to lead to environmentally sound waste management of liquids containing polychlorinated biphenyls and equipment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls having a polychlorinated biphenyls content above 0.005 per cent, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 6, as soon as possible but no later than 2028, subject to review by the Conference of the Parties;
(f) In lieu of note (ii) in Part I of this Annex, endeavor to identify other articles containing more than 0.005 per cent polychlorinated biphenyls (e.g. cable-sheaths, cured caulk and painted objects) and manage them in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 6;
(g) Provide a report every fi ve years on progress in eliminating polychlorinated biphenyls and submit it to the Conference of the Parties pursuant to Article 15;
(h) The reports described in subparagraph (g) shall, as appropriate, be considered by the Conference of the Parties in its reviews relating to polychlorinated biphenyls. The Conference of the Parties shall review progress towards elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls at five year intervals or other period, as appropriate, taking into account such reports.

Nigeria is also conscious of the exigency and expediency to:-

  • complete national inventories of all PCBs and related contaminated equipment;
  • improve the capacity and increase the knowledge of PCB equipment owners on proper maintenance of equipment to avoid further contamination; and
  • establish proper storage of discontinued equipment and ensure disposal of all the PCB oils and contaminated equipment in an environmentally sound manner.

The PCB inventories conducted in 2008 and 2009 in the Power Sector conservatively estimated the amount of PCBs-contaminated oil at 421 tons, combined weight of PCB-contaminated equipment at 1,061 tons and total amount of PCB-contaminated wastes in Nigeria at 3,400 tons. In the same vein, the 2014 PCBs inventory conducted in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and fourteen States (Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue, Niger, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Delta, Rivers, Abia, Anambra and Enugu) reported 1689.25metric tonnes (MT) of PCBs and 6137.71MT of PCBs-containing equipment. It was also reported in 2014 that the power sector had about 250 transmission transformers, 34,800 distribution transformers and over 2,000 power transformers. While It is not unlikely that these had unequivocally been underestimated due to data gaps, with increasing investments in the national electricity production, transmission and distribution (T&D) networks and backbone infrastructures, it is plausible to indicate that the situation must have significantly escalated over the last decade.

Consequently, Nigeria is implementing the Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of PCBs, with incremental supports of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project is intended to:-

  • build the national capacity for sound management of PCBs and PCBs-containing/contaminated electrical equipment in the Power Sector;
  • protect the environment and citizenry against PCBs exposure risks;
  • enable Nigeria meet her obligations under the Stockholm Convention; and
  • translate lessons learnt in this project to other countries experiencing similar challenges.

The project, which had its inception in 2018, with a duration of 5years, is domiciled in Federal Ministry of Environment, as the lead organisation for the PCB Project Implementation, as the Designated National Authority for International Treaties on Chemicals and Waste in Nigeria.

Project Donors

Federal Ministry of Environment

Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria, is the Designated National Authority (DNA) for the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to which Nigeria is a Party. The Ministry is the Implementing Partner (IP), Lead Organisation and has provided counter-part support for the PCBs ESM and Disposal Project. Visit

Global Environment Facility

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided more than $21.1 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $114 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 projects in 170 countries. GEF is providing financial support for this project. Visit

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Pgramme (UNDP) is a Specialised Agency in the United Nations System, which  works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. UNDP helps countries develop strong policies, skills, partnerships and institutions so they can sustain their progress.

UNDP is the GEF Implementing Agency (IA) for Environmentally Sound Managment and Disposal of Polychlorinated biphenyls Project. UNDP, through its Country Office, UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor and the UNDP-GEF Directorate, is providing technical support in the project implementation. Read

Project Components

Stakeholders’ Roles in the Project Implementation

The project is being implemented at the Federal and State Levels, with Federal Ministry of Environment undertaking overall project oversight, through the PMU. The PMU  works closely with relevant Ministries, Agencies and Departments, as well as electrical facilities, to achieve the development outcomes and results.

It is being nationally executed under UNDP’s National Implementation Modality (NIM), according to the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement between UNDP and the Government of Nigeria, and the Country Program Document (CPD). The Implementing Partner for this project is Federal Ministry of Environment, which is responsible and accountable for managing the project, including the monitoring and evaluation of project activities, achieving project outcomes and effective use of project resources.

Project Steering Committee Members during the Inauguration Ceremony

The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is constituted by core stakeholders like FMEnv (Chairman), UNDP, Federal Ministries of Power, Finance, Health, Transport, Labour, Information, Customs Service, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Academia, Power Sector Operators. PSC provides policy and management direction for the project implementation.

The competent authority for the regulation of power sector operators, National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), serves as a go-between, for the project and electrical institutions, to communicate information and ensure compliance with developed regulations.

Field Demonstration of Safe and Effective PCBs Inventory at Gwandara Injection Substation, Gwandara, Nasarawa State

All Power Sector Operators, including the Integrated Power Project Owners, cutting accross the power generation, transmission and ditribution chain, are potential holders/owners of PCBs and PCBs-containing equipment; hence are direct project targets and beneficiaries. Furthermore, Power Sector Operators are required to permit access to their facilities for PCBs Inventory in 22 States (not covered in 2014), gender analysis, treatment and support disposal activities, to facilitate effective project products delivery. It is to be noted that the 22 States to be covered during the Inventory field activities are Imo, Ebonyi, Cross Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa State, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun.

Human Milk Sampling Team Members holding a Pre-Mobilisation Meeting at the PMU Conference Room

Women and the youth are target project beneficiaries and their concerns are required to be effectively mainstreamed into the project implementation, to create the needed balance for all strata of project beneficiaries and Stakeholders – men, women, boy and girls – across all levels. It is a global conviction and an unassailable reality that no development effort can be truly successful or transformative without being gender-sensitive. The project recognizes the role of gender mainstreaming in realizing development outcomes for inclusive and successful project implementation, gender-centred PCBs exposure risks mitigation, equitable access to and control over resources, roles, responsibilities among others.

Nursing Mothers attending a Post-natal Day at Kubwa Primary Healthcare Centre, Kubwa, Abuja

Against this background, and in order to actualise an effective gender mainstreaming within the broader context of the project priorities, gender-dimensional interventions are expected to be implemented in five thematic priority areas, namely: Enabling Environment, Inclusion and Participation, Technical Support and Synergies, Awareness Creation and Knowledge Management. The project is therefore to draw guidance from GEF Gender Equality Action Plan, the UNDP Gender Equality Strategy and Gender Equality Provisions of the National Policy on the Environment, as programmatic frameworks.

The Institutional Arrangment for the administration of the PCBs ESM and Disposal Project is as depicted in the Project Organisation Structure.

The project therefore leverages on counterpart supports in order to actualise  successful delivery of its expected outcomes, results and products.