Sweden has worked actively to remove PCBs from buildings for 20 years. In 1997, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency published a report on a study demonstrating that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from sealants in buildings contaminate the surrounding environment. PCBs spread to the ground surrounding buildings, into the air both outside and inside the building and to materials that are in contact with PCB-containing sealants. The spread of PCBs from existing sealants in facade joints showed the urgency of removing PCB-containing sealants and flooring compounds, known as open applications.

In 1998, Sweden began an extensive information campaign regarding PCBs in buildings. Work to inventory and decontaminate the country’s buildings and installations has been ongoing to various extents since then. PCBs can be found in four different products in Swedish buildings namely sealants, flooring compounds, sealed window units and small condensers. Since 2007, there have been requirements in place regarding the decontamination of PCB-containing sealants and flooring compounds pursuant to the Swedish PCB Ordinance (SFS 2007:19).

This report has been written to summarise the current state of knowledge in Sweden and to inform of our experiences. The report provides a written and illustrated description of how inventory and sampling can be achieved and methods for successfully decontaminating sealants with regard to people and the environment. We offer examples of suitable equipment and machinery for decontamination and describe situations in which various tools and methods are good to use.

This report only deals with PCBs in buildings. Whenever the term buildings is used, it also encompasses facilities. The term PCBs in buildings refers to building materials and equipment that contain or are suspected of containing PCBs.