From Dec.1978 to Sep.1979, a terrible incident happened in central Taiwan, Chang-hua and Tai-chung counties. A brown rice oil maker sold the oil which was contaminated by the heating media containing PCB leak from broken pipe. More than two thousand people fell victims and suffered from serious skin disease because of the poisonous characteristics of PCBs such as its strong persistency and disruption of endocrine. The children born by PCB contaminated mothers are mental retarded and hyperactive [1].

In Taiwan, PCB was normally used in food industry as heating medium, and in transformers and capacitors as insulating oil. Tatung Company and Shinlin Electric Engineering Company are the main two producers of transformers and capacitors. Taiwan Power Company is the main user of those. Due to the cost of PCB transformer was more expensive than that of general oil transformer. There was no commercial benefit on PCB transform market. Therefore, before the PCB incident happened most of PCB was used in capacitors in the country.

PCB and PCB waste originate from the oil and the products purchased in the past before 1982. Evaluating from a survey action in 1985 the amount of PCB in Taiwan was estimated to be about 1000 metric tons which includes about 20 tons raw oil, about 80 tons in transformers, and the rest in capacitors [2. 1986 Environmental Protection Yearbook, TEPA]. But, in 1995 an additional report from Ministry of Military presented there were 512 metric tons still used in transformers and capacitors of military sector.

There were 3,047 companies which have PCB containing capacitors. The total number of capacitors identified as PCB containing capacitors was 23147 and there were other 61,360 capacitors needed to be identified [3 1994 Environmental Protection Yearbook, TEPA]

According to the survey conducted by TEPA in 1991, some types of capacitor manufactured before June 1980, all capacitors manufactured from June 1980 to 1982 , and transformers manufactured before Dec 1982 are suspected to contain PCB [4 EPA Announcement: Waste Management Letter No. 34442 , Dec. 29, 1994].

Most electrical capacitors were filled with PCB liquids. It should be assumed therefore that all power capacitors regardless of size or use contain PCBs except where alternative (non-PCB) liquids.

Since the incident of brown rice oil contaminated by PCB, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan banned the import of PCB and ordered all the capacitor producers to stop the use of PCB and to keep the PCB capacitors and raw PCB oil in storage.

After 1980, the transformers and capacitors produced in Taiwan contain no PCB. Also from 1980, Taiwan power company stopped buying any equipment using PCB and planned to replace equipment having PCB.

PCB was declared as a toxic chemical substance on June 22, 1988 by Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan (TEPA). Import, sell of PCB and use of PCB in food industry were prohibited.

The waste transformers, capacitors, and oil containing PCB or the waste containing PCB above 50 ppm are classified as PCB hazardous industrial waste, according to the criteria enforced on March 10, 1994.

According to the regulating under Toxic Chemical Substances Control Act (article5) had announced the threshold regulated quantities of PCBs and banned producing, importing and selling of that. After the declaration of use of products containing PCBs are not available in the market

The use of PCB was not banned exactly until Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan (TEPA) declared the prohibition order issued on January 1, 2001 charged by the Toxic Chemical Substances Prohibition Rule.

Capacitors and transformers containing PCBs are considered as waste only when they are no longer in use. In Taiwan, PCB waste is classified as a hazardous industrial waste under the Waste Disposal act. The disposal of PCB waste are controlled by below legislations:

• Toxic Chemical Substances Control Act
  
  Article5:
  
  The Environmental Protection Administration may classify chemical substances according to their toxicity as Class I, II, III, or IV substances by public announcement.
  
  The Environmental Protection Administration may restrain or prohibit the handling of Class I, II, or III substances.
  
• Waste Disposal Act
  
  
  Article2:
  
  The term "waste" as used in this Act includes the following types:
  
  "General wastes." These wastes include garbage, excrement and urine, animal corpses, or other solid or liquid wastes that have capacity to pollute the environment and are generated by non-industrial organizations.
  
  "Industrial wastes." These include:
  (1) "hazardous industrial wastes," generated by industrial enterprises, that contain toxic or dangerous substances in a sufficient concentration or quantity to endanger human beings or pollute the environment; and
  (2) "general industrial wastes," generated by industrial enterprises, that include wastes other than hazardous industrial wastes.
  
  The identification criteria for hazardous industrial wastes shall be promulgated by the EPA after consultation with the Responsible Agency for the Enterprise Associated with the Industry at Issue at the central government level.
  
  Article 13:
  
  Enterprises generating industrial wastes shall be responsible for the clearance and disposal of the wastes or shall delegate this responsibility to publicly or privately owned waste management organizations.
  
  If the general industrial wastes of the industrial wastes mentioned in the above Section can be cleared away and disposed of together with general wastes, the enterprise may choose to pay Implementing Agencies to clear away and dispose of these wastes.
  
  Hazardous industrial wastes shall not be combined with general wastes and general industrial wastes for clearance and disposal.
  
• The identification criteria for hazardous industrial wastes
  
  Article 4 Item 8 :
  
  The classification of PCBs hazardous industrial wastes from EPA declares that:
  PCBs hazardous industrial wastes are used Capacitors and transformers that containing PCBs more than 50 ppm.
  
• The Criteria of Governing Methods of and Facilities for Storage, Clearance and Treatment of Industrial Wastes
  
  Article 23 Item 7:
  
  The following industrial wastes shall undergo intermediate treatment in accordance with the methods described below
  Wastes containing pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or dioxin: Pyrolisis or direct thermal-treatment
  
• Hazardous Industrial Waste Import, Export, Transit and Transshipment Management Measures
  
  Article 13:
  
  Applications for export permits may only be made by enterprises which produce hazardous industrial wastes or Class A publicly or privately owned waste management organizations.

Environmental Information of Taiwan, TEPA, 1987