More and more large property-owners choose to screen their property portfolio for the toxin PCB. The consultancy company ALECTIA has developed an efficient PCB screening tool with the ability to clarify whether buildings are in the danger zone of containing PCB. ALECTIA experiences a great demand for PCB consultancy, and screens 5.3 million m² buildings for several large property-owners. The performed screenings show that 13 percent of the screened m² are in the high risk zone for containing PCB.

The debate about the harmful solvent PCB, which can be diffused to the indoor climate and the surrounding areas from building materials, is still going on. Many people are still doing nothing; however, several major companies and public authorities have chosen to relate to the PCB problems. Consulting engineer and trusted adviser Gorm Krogsdal from ALECTIA says:

“We see a clear increase in the PCB consultancy assignments for private as well as public customers. Aside from the many specific assignments that we carry out, where PCB has already been found, more and more people choose to respond proactively to PCB. At the moment we are screening more than 3,700 property portfolios for PCB for a wide range of customers, similar to 5.3 million m² buildings. The screening gives the customers an overview of the buildings that are at risk and the buildings that are basically safe.”  

PCB is a toxin which is difficult to degrade, and it is suspected of causing cancer and disrupting hormones. It can be found in buildings built or renovated from 1950-1977, after which PCB was banned.

Newly-developed PCB screening tool
ALECTIA has developed a PCB screening model for customers with property portfolios of all sizes. The IT screening tool is based on information from BBR (the building and dwelling register) together with comprehensive PCB experiences and collection of technical information about the customers’ buildings including reconstructions, building materials and intended use.

“Our PCB screening model provides an indication and a risk profile in relation to finding PCB in each individual building. The procedure is expedient, as the actual PCB measurements are rather costly, and even experienced experts cannot just from a visual inspection assess whether a building contains PCB”, says Gorm Krogsdal from ALECTIA and continues:

“The customers can use the screening results as a prioritization tool which ensures that the PCB handling occurs systematically and on a properly and carefully prepared basis. In that way it is possible to start the measurements where the probability of finding PCB is most likely. This helps to ensure that the money spent will have the greatest possible economic impact and health effect.”

Create overview with the PCB strategy
After the PCB screening it will be natural to prepare a strategy for the continued work in connection with sampling and removal of possible PCB occurrences. Consulting engineer and trusted adviser Gorm Krogsdal from ALECTIA explains:

“If PCB is found in a building, it will be necessary to relate to the size of the concentrations and whether the PCB is found in a room where many employees are working, and in that way being subjected, or whether it is found in a store or a bike shed. Therefore, it is appropriate to prepare a strategy for the area where it will typically be considered how to relate to the PCB, including preparation of a tolerance policy, action survey, communication plan for partners, time schedule and budget for sampling.”

ALECTIA’s PCB screenings of a total of 5.3 million m² buildings show that 13 percent of the screened m² are in the high risk zone and 13 percent in the medium risk zone for containing PCB. Furthermore, 43 percent of the screened m² are in the low risk zone and the remaining 31 percent are built after 1980 and are therefore without any risk of containing PCB.