Electrical Insulation Oils

Electrical insulation oils were developed for a number of uses in the electrical/electronic industry, including the manufacture of capacitors and the insulation of high-voltage switch gear, but are best known for their use as cooling fluids in high voltage electrical transformers.

Originally, electrical insulation oils were manufactured with PCBs (poly-chlorinated bi-phenols), which were identified as mutagens. The maximum permitted content of PCBs in oil is set at 50 parts per million and waste which exceeds this level must be incinerated at a licenced facility.

PCBs have not been produced for more than twenty-five years and modern electrical insulation oils are produced without them.

Collection information

A representative sample must be obtained and analysed for PCB content, prior to recovery arrangements being made.