(1) The department shall establish purchasing and procurement policies that provide a preference for products and products in packaging that does not contain polychlorinated biphenyls.

(2) No agency may knowingly purchase products or products in packaging containing polychlorinated biphenyls above the practical quantification limit except when it is not cost-effective or technically feasible to do so.

(3) Nothing in this section requires the department or any other state agency to breach an existing contract or dispose of stock that has been ordered or is in the possession of the department or other state agency as of June 12, 2014.

Findings—2014 c 135: “Polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs, are a family of human-made organic chemicals that were used in many industrial and commercial products such as insulating fluids for electric transformers and capacitors, hydraulic fluids, plasticizers, paint additives, lubricants, inks, caulk, and carbonless copy paper. PCBs were used because of their fire resistance, chemical stability, and electrical insulating properties. PCBs are also found in products as an unintentional by-product of manufacturing processes. PCBs are ubiquitous in the environment because of their stability, extensive previous use, by-production in manufacturing, inadvertent release, and the inability to control and eliminate them through current waste management practices. PCBs are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic, and they cycle between the air, soil, and water. PCBs have been shown to cause cancer and affect the human immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems. The United States toxic substances control act prohibited the commercial production of PCBs in 1979. However, the United States environmental protection agency rules implementing the ban provides exemptions for certain products containing PCBs at concentrations of fifty parts per million or less as a result of manufacturing processes and therefore the continued manufacture, processing, distribution, and use of products containing PCBs remains permitted.” [ 2014 c 135 § 1.]