Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic chemicals that persist in the environment and accumulate in the food chain.

Because of their longevity, PCBs are still widely in use, even though their manufacture has declined drastically since the 1960s, when a host of problems were identified.

The EU has released a Directive to control the disposal of those substances, through Directive 96/59 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT), to be found here.