2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the 1997 Order” means the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997(1);
“applicant” means a person who applies for registration under regulation 6;
“contaminated equipment” means any equipment (including any transformer, capacitor or receptacle containing residual stocks) which—
contains PCBs; or
having contained PCBs, has not been decontaminated,
other than one which contains a total volume of PCBs not exceeding 5 dm3;
and for the purposes of this definition—
the PCB volume of a power capacitor shall be measured by reference to all of the separate elements of a combined set, and
anything of a type that may contain PCBs shall be treated as containing PCBs, unless it is reasonable to assume the contrary;
“decontamination” means all operations which enable equipment, objects, materials or fluids contaminated by PCBs to be reused, recycled or disposed of under safe conditions, and which may include replacement, meaning all operations in which PCBs are replaced by suitable fluids not containing PCBs;
“the Department” means the Department of the Environment;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)(2);
[F1“Directive 2008/98/EC” means Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste and repealing certain Directives, as last amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2017/997 amending Annex III to Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the hazardous property HP 14 ‘Ecotoxic’;]
“disposal” means any of the operations D8, D9, D10, D12 (only in safe, deep, underground storage in dry rock formations and only for equipment containing PCBs or used PCBs which cannot be decontaminated) and D15 provided for in [F2Annex I of Directive 2008/98/EC] and set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations;
“holder” means the person who is in possession of PCBs, including any used PCBs, or of any equipment;
“PCBs” means any of the following substances—
polychlorinated biphenyls,
polychlorinated terphenyls,
monomethyl-dibromo-diphenyl methane,
monomethyl-dichloro-diphenyl methane,
monomethyl-tetrachlorodiphenyl methane,
and, except in regulations 4(3) and (4), 5(3), 6(2) and 9(3), includes any mixture containing any of those substances in a total of more than 0.005% by weight;
“registered holder” means a person registered with the Department in accordance with regulation 6, and a registered holder is a registered holder in relation to particular equipment if a description of that equipment, including its location, has been furnished to the Department;
“transformer” includes ancillary equipment, that is to say, equipment that is an integral part of the site of which the transformer is part, including radiators, bushings, through-wall bushings, and capacitors on air blast circuit breakers;
“used PCBs” means any PCBs which are waste within the meaning of [F3Directive 2008/98/EC].
(2) Other expressions used in these Regulations and in the Directive shall have the same meaning as they have in the Directive.
(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (17.1.2019) by The Air Quality (Amendment, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/215), regs. 1(1), 3
F2Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (8.4.2011) by The Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/127), regs. 1(1), 32(2)(a) (with reg. 9(2))
F3Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (8.4.2011) by The Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/127), regs. 1(1), 32(2)(b) (with reg. 9(2))
Commencement Information
I1Reg. 2 in operation at 7.8.2000, see reg. 1(2)