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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 3, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1990

NEWS...
CFC SUBSTITUTES

Item #d90jan95

Montreal Protocol Speed-Up. A working group of parties to the Montreal Protocol made significant progress on agreeing to a complete phase-out of CFCs by the year 2000, but opinion differs on how interim reductions should be carried out. Protocol modifications must be developed before a June 1990 meeting of signatories. For details see Intl. Environ. Rptr., pp. 585-586, Dec. 1989; Greenhouse Effect Rep., p. 100, Dec. 1989. Timetables ranging from the years 2010 to 2060 for phasing out hydrogen-based HCFCs, considered less damaging "bridge" substitutes by industry, were also considered. The influence of such restrictions on development of CFC substitutes is discussed in "Now HCFC-22 Feels the Pressure," Chem. Week, p. 15, Dec. 6. See also "Atmospheric Scientists Assess Hydrogen-Bearing CFC Substitutes" (Chem. Eng. News, p. 15, Oct. 23), which discusses an international evaluation being performed for the Montreal Protocol.

Item #d90jan96

EPA Toxicity Testing Plan. At an international conference on CFC substitutes held in Washington in October 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented a draft plan for evaluating the safety and environmental effects of alternative chemicals necessary to meet the requirements of the Montreal Protocol. Its basic principles are that substitutes must be tested immediately, and that EPA must continually assess the incoming data rather than wait until all planned testing is complete. Test results are already forthcoming from the industry-sponsored Program for Alternative Fluorocarbon Toxicity Testing (PAFTT). Comments are welcome on the draft plan, Strategy for the Human Health and Environmental Effects Review of CFC Substitutes; copies are available from the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Office, 401 M St. NW, Washington DC 20460 (202-382-3790). See also Chem. Eng. News, pp. 14-15, Oct. 23, 1989, and "CFC Substitutes: Candidates Pass Early Toxicity Tests," P. Zurer, Chem. Eng. News, p. 4, Oct. 9.

Item #d90jan97

EPA-Industry Cooperative. At the same conference, nine U.S. companies pledged to form a cooperative and work with EPA to phase out CFC use in their international operations. The firms are AT&T, Boeing, Digital Equipment, Ford, General Electric, Honeywell, Motorola, Northern Telecom and Texas Instruments. The cooperative will also share information on new alternatives with other industries world-wide, and work to encourage the adoption of safe substitutes by small companies in developing countries. In August, AT&T announced it would eliminate all CFC emissions from its manufacturing processes by 1994, and three other major firms (General Electric, General Motors and Nissan) announced moves that will substantially reduce their CFC use.

Articles on the Industry

Item #d90jan98

"How to Fix the CFC Mix," A. Wood, Chem. Week, p. 64, Oct. 18, 1989.

Item #d90jan99

"Urethane Makers Feel CFC Squeeze," D. Hunter, ibid., p. 8, Oct. 11.

Item #d90jan100

"ICI Leaps into CFC Substitutes," C.B. MacKerron, ibid., p. 9.

Item #d90jan101

"CFC Prices Go for the Sky," A. Wood, ibid., p. 14, Sep. 20.

Item #d90jan102

"CFC Displacement Revisited," K. Sternberg, ibid., p. 22, Aug. 30. CFC users and producers, especially the automobile and electronics industries, are finding that the costs of research, development, redesigning and conversion of production systems will be astronomical.