PCBs Testing Service

Mississauga, Ontario, March 27, 2025

While the manufacture, process, import, and offer for sale of PCBs have been prohibited in Canada since 1977, a ban on existing light ballasts and various other electrical equipment that contain PCBs takes effect on December 31, 2025.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC):

PCBs in electrical equipment are in oil form, and were used as an insulating fluid for transformers and capacitors. They were also added to paints, caulking, sealants and asphalt, since they do not corrode easily, are fire-resistant, and add flexibility to these products when dried. The equipment containing PCBs is durable and has a service life of up to 50 years, or longer with retrofitting. Large quantities can be found in this equipment still in use, placed in storage, and in products that were improperly disposed of. 

Concerns over PCB exposure from aging fluorescent light ballasts (FLBs) have been an issue for years. Most PCB-containing FLBs that are still in use have exceeded their designed life span and are an exposure risk if they leak. Even old intact FLBs may emit small amounts of PCBs into the air during normal use, warns the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Any fluorescent light ballasts manufactured prior to 1980 may contain high levels of PCBs,” said Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President of Marketing at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “The end-of-use deadline in Canada for these ballasts and other electrical equipment containing from 50 mg/kg to less than 500 mg/kg is only months away. EMSL Analytical, with laboratories in Canada and the United States, offers environmental, material, and industrial hygiene testing for PCBs and other regulated substances. These resources protect building occupants and workers, and can help to keep companies and institutions in regulatory compliance.”

EMSL has sponsored an educational video about PCBs and fluorescent light ballasts that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/eBAhbtV8lEE 

To learn more about PCB testing from bulk materials, dust, soil, air, water, or other sources, please visit www.emslcanada.ca, call (289) 997-4602 or email info@EMSL.com.