§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in what ways he has monitored and encouraged the progress of the refrigeration industry to move away from CFCs; and what study he has made of acoustic refrigeration.
§ Mr. LeighMy Department regularly meets producers and users of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances to discuss alternative options for when production of these substances is phased out over the next few years. These contacts include the development and use of substitutes in refrigeration. My Department participates in relevant United Kingdom conferences and international fora and last year published through HMSO a study commissioned from independent consultants "CFCs and Halons: Alternatives and the Scope for Recovery for Recycling and Destruction".
The Department offers support to industry for development of environmentally cleaner technologies, for example through the enterprise initiative and the environmental technology innovation scheme, the environmental management options scheme and Euroenviron. It has made no formal study nor received any project proposal relating to acoustic refrigeration. However, I understand that while this technique may be being developed for use in space, the view of the refrigeration industry is that the high engineering standards it requires currently render it economically unviable for more general application.