The government will remove fluorescent lights and mercury lamps containing polychlorinated biphenyls from all public facilities in fiscal 2001, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday.

The decision was made following a recent series of accidents at elementary and junior high schools.

The ministry also plans to ask the private sector to remove lights containing PCBs, which are suspected carcinogens.

The plan is expected to be approved at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministry officials said.

Several PCB-related accidents have occurred recently, including one last month in the city of Gifu in which the condenser in a fluorescent light at an elementary school exploded and covered children with liquid containing PCBs. Similar accidents have also occurred at schools in Hachioji, western Tokyo.

The government plans to remove such lights from all public facilities, including schools, roads, tunnels, offices, warehouses, hospitals and post offices.

It is unclear, however, whether local governments that manage schools will be able to remove the lights within their current budgetary limitations. There will be no additional budget appropriations for the replacement of the lights.

According to the ministry, about 20 million lights containing PCBs were manufactured for business use until about 30 years ago.

It is estimated that between 2 million and 5 million of the units are still in use nationwide.

In 1972, Japan banned the production and sale of PCBs, but light fixtures already containing PCBs were not prohibited.

Since 1988, the Ministry of Education has sent notices to schools several times urging them to replace such lights, a process that has been disrupted by budgetary constraints.