Assessment of Canadian Capacity in the Electrical Equipment and PCB Waste Management Industries

The overall increase in demand for new electrical equipment to replace PCB equipment under regulated phase-out is less than 33% of the total PCB equipment replacement required under the normal attrition scenario over the period 2001-2014. It is unlikely that the electrical equipment industry will have difficulty in supplying the additional equipment necessary although there may be delays in the supply chain in some locations and at certain times.

A separate study completed in 2000 (Headwater, 2000) found that Canada currently has an excess capacity for PCB management services, transportation of PCBs and destruction of PCBs. The over-capacity is such that the additional quantities of PCBs to be managed, transported and destroyed under the regulated phase-out scenario will be easily handled by the PCB waste management industry.