Substance profile
Polychlorobiphenyls
Polychlorobiphenyls is a substance with a harmonised classification under EU CLP.
01 · Identification
What Polychlorobiphenyls is
Polychlorobiphenyls is a substance with a harmonised classification under EU CLP.
Under the GHS it carries the signal word Warning.
02 · Identifiers
Polychlorobiphenyls identifiers and molecular data
Polychlorobiphenyls CAS number and EC number
Other names for Polychlorobiphenyls
- PCB
03 · GHS classification
Polychlorobiphenyls hazard classification
Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.
Polychlorobiphenyls pictograms and signal word
Polychlorobiphenyls hazard class and category
| Hazard class | Category | From code | Pictogram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specific target organ toxicity - repeated exposure GHS chapter 3.9 | Category 2 | H373 | GHS08 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - acute GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H400 | GHS09 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - chronic GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H410 | GHS09 |
Polychlorobiphenyls hazard statements (H-codes)
| Code | Hazard statement |
|---|---|
| H373 | May cause damage to organs <or state all organs affected, if known> through prolonged or repeated exposure <state route of exposure if it is conclusively proven that no other routes of exposure cause the hazard>. |
| H400 | Very toxic to aquatic life. |
| H410 | Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects. |
This page lists only the codes assigned to Polychlorobiphenyls. The full reference lives on the hazard statements hub, the precautionary statements hub and the GHS pictograms hub.
Safety Data Sheet
Getting an SDS for Polychlorobiphenyls
A Safety Data Sheet is written for a product, not for a substance: the supplier of the grade you actually buy issues it, so two suppliers of Polychlorobiphenyls issue two different sheets. That is why there is no single authoritative SDS for a substance to download — what there is, is the job of collecting the sheets for the products you hold and keeping them current as suppliers revise them.
04 · Precautionary statements
Polychlorobiphenyls precautionary statements
CLP Annex VI assigns 6 precautionary statements to Polychlorobiphenyls. They are grouped the way a label groups them: what to do before handling, what to do when something has already happened, how to store it and how to dispose of it.
Prevention
What to do before and during handling so the hazard never happens.
Response
What to do once exposure, spillage or fire has already happened.
Disposal
What has to happen to the contents and the empty container.
Reading the notation. … is a blank the supplier fills in — not a truncated sentence.· [square brackets] mark a part printed only when it applies.
05 · Names in the regulation
Polychlorobiphenyls name in 23 EU languages
CLP Annex VI Part 3 is published in every language edition of the regulation, and the identification column is written out in each of them. Nothing below is translated by us: each line is the name as that edition prints it. Under Art. 18(2) the substance name from Annex VI is a lawful product identifier, so this is the wording to put on a label going to that market — and where the cell lists several designations, any one of them qualifies.
| Language | Name in CLP Annex VI Part 3 |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian български | полихлоробифенили PCB |
| Spanish español | Policlorobifenilos PCB |
| Czech čeština | polychlorované bifenyly PCB |
| Danish dansk | polychlorerede biphenyler PCB |
| German Deutsch | Polychlorierte Biphenyle PCB |
| Estonian eesti | polüklorobifenüülid PCB |
| Greek ελληνικά | πολυχλωροδιφαινύλια PCB |
| English English | polychlorobiphenyls PCB |
| French français | polychlorobiphényles PCB |
| Croatian hrvatski | poliklorobifenili PCB |
| Italian italiano | policlorobifenili PCB |
| Latvian latviešu | polihlorbifenili PCB |
| Lithuanian lietuvių | polichlorinti bifenilai PCB |
| Hungarian magyar | poliklórbifenilek PCB |
| Maltese Malti | poliklorobifenili PCB |
| Dutch Nederlands | polychloorbifenylen pcb |
| Polish polski | polichlorowane bifenyle PCB |
| Portuguese português | bifenilos policlorados PCB |
| Romanian română | policlorodifenili PCB |
| Slovak slovenčina | polychlórované bifenyly PCB |
| Slovenian slovenščina | poliklorirani bifenili PCB |
| Finnish suomi | polyklooribifenyylit PCB |
| Swedish svenska | polyklorbifenyler PCB |
All 23 language editions of Annex VI carry this entry. Irish is the twenty-fourth official EU language and has no line here for a different reason: no consolidated CLP text has ever been published in Irish, so there is no Irish edition of Annex VI to quote a name from. Source: consolidated CLP, CELEX 02008R1272, language editions. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — only the electronic Official Journal of the European Union is authentic.
06 · Label elements
Polychlorobiphenyls GHS label elements
Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Polychlorobiphenyls, laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.
Warning
Polychlorobiphenyls
- May cause damage to organs <or state all organs affected, if known> through prolonged or repeated exposure <state route of exposure if it is conclusively proven that no other routes of exposure cause the hazard>.
- Very toxic to aquatic life.
- Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- Do not breathe dust/fume/gas/mist/vapours/spray.
- Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product.
- Avoid release to the environment.
- Get medical advice/attention if you feel unwell.
- Collect spillage.
- Dispose of contents/container to …
Supplier name, address and telephone number· Product identifier·Nominal quantity
Need this as an actual label? Open Polychlorobiphenyls in the GHS label constructor →
07 · Questions
Polychlorobiphenyls — frequently asked questions
What is the CAS number of Polychlorobiphenyls?
The CAS number of Polychlorobiphenyls is 1336-36-3. Its EC number is 215-648-1.
What does a Polychlorobiphenyls label have to show?
Under CLP Annex VI the label for Polychlorobiphenyls carries the pictograms Health hazard and Environment and the signal word is Warning.
Is Polychlorobiphenyls flammable?
CLP Annex VI assigns Polychlorobiphenyls no flammability hazard class. That is not a statement that it cannot burn: the harmonised list only records the hazards that were assessed for it.
Is Polychlorobiphenyls a carcinogen?
CLP Annex VI records no harmonised carcinogenicity classification for Polychlorobiphenyls. Annex VI is a list of agreed classifications, not a list of substances found safe, so this is an absence of a classification rather than a clean bill of health.
Nearby
Substances next to Polychlorobiphenyls
Keep going: substances starting with P, or search the whole database by name, CAS number, pictogram or signal word.