TT phasing out ozone depleting CFCs

The workshop’s opening ceremony was held at the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) building, Port-of-Spain.

It was organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the EMA and the Government for representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board, the EMA, the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Environment, the Air Condition and Refrigeration Association, the University of Trinidad and Tobago, the John Donaldson Technical Institute, the National Training Agency and Plant Quarantine.

Other officials attending the workshop’s opening ceremony was the EMA’s manager of corporate services, Kenwyn Ogeer, UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNEP/ROLAC) representative Artie Dubrie and assistant national officer-EMA Marrisa Gowrie.

“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said, “acceded to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer on August 28, 1989.”

He said the country has also been successful in implementing a number of ozone phase out activities such as implementing a freeze and a quota system on the importation of ozone depleting substances since July 1, 1999, and the imposition of restrictions on the importation of equipment requiring the use of ozone depleting substances.

“Other measures is the encouragement, where possible, the retrofitting of existing Cholroflurocarbon or CFC-based equipment,” he said, “the conversion of a local CFC aerosol filling facility to a non-CFC facility, and the phasing out of the use of halons as firefighting substances.”

He said these successful environmental activities are all part of the nation’s country programme for the phase-out of ozone depleting substances, beginning in 1999.

“In 2004,” he noted, “TT continued its phase out efforts of ozone depleting substances and began the aggressive implementation of the Terminal Phase Out Plan for the complete phase out of CFC’s which is expected to be completed by December 31, 2007.”

He said the Terminal Phase Out Plan is a performance based action programme geared towards increasing the technological and skills capacity of the mobile air conditioning) and the refrigeration sector allowing for CFC phase out.

Mills continued, “One such mechanism is a comprehensive training programme for service technicians in the sector, in ozone friendly handling of refrigerants from automobile air conditioning and refrigeration systems.”