South Africa is party to international agreements on the proper management of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), their end-of-use, and their destruction within specified time frames. These agreements include UNEP’s 2001 Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants and the 1989 Basel Convention on trans boundary movement of hazardous waste. With regard to the elimination of the use of PCBs in equipment (for example, transformers, capacitors, or other receptacles containing liquid stocks), the Stockholm Convention outlines specific requirements with respect to the management of their phase-out by 2025.

In March 2008, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism announced a prohibition on the use, processing, or manufacturing of any asbestos or asbestos-containing products. These regulations do not prohibit the continued use of asbestos-containing materials (such as asbestos-cement roof sheets or ceilings) that are already in place, as the Department is satisfied that there is no undue risk to the occupants of houses that are fitted with these materials. Over time, however, they should be replaced with asbestos-free materials.