Ozone-depleting Substances (Hansard, 25 November 1992)

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding has been allocated or spent to deal specifically with measures to reduce his Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

§ Mr. Forth
A total of £4,911 has been spent in the current financial year to replace halon fire extinguishers with environmentally friendly alternatives.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance has been sought and received on alternatives or substitutes to the ozone-destroying chemicals in use by his Department.

§ Mr. Forth
Property Holdings, or their appointed contractors, maintain all the Department's refrigeration and air-conditioning plant, under their standard option arrangements. The Department depends on these arrangements to control the use of ozone-destroying chemicals, and to introduce suitable alternative or substitute materials in our premises.
In addition, for more general applications like the use of cleaning materials etc, the Department adheres to guidance and advice disseminated by the Department of the Environment.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many portable halon fire extinguishers are contained within departmental buildings; and what measures are being taken to ensure their recycling and replacement.

§ Mr. Forth
There are 45 portable halon fire extinguishers contained within the Department. All these extinguishers will be replaced by the end of 1992 and be properly recycled.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what targets have been set for the recycling of ozone-depleting chemicals within departmental buildings.

§ Mr. Forth
A replacement programme for Halon fire extinguishers will be completed by the target date of December 1992. All other ozone-depleting chemicals which have to be replaced are properly recycled under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many catastrophic leaks of ozone-depleting substances have occurred within Department buildings in the last five years.

§ Mr. Forth
None.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what proportion of his Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances becomes controlled waste in terms of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990;
700W
(2) what action has been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances consumed by his Department are identified as controlled wastes when they are no longer in use;
(3) what measures have been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances in use by his Department identified as controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 do not reach the atmosphere.

§ Mr. Forth
The disposal of controlled waste is governed by the Duty of Care Regulations which came into force on 1 April 1992 under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These regulations make producers of controlled waste responsible for ensuring that it is disposed of safely and legally. There is no Crown immunity from these regulations and the Department takes care to observe them.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many refrigeration and air conditioning systems in his Department are equipped with automatic leak detection systems.

§ Mr. Forth
None.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) by what date his Department's use of ozone-depleting chemicals will conform to EC regulations on limits on these chemicals;
(2) which current uses of ozone-depleting chemicals by his Department are considered essential.

§ Mr. Forth
Both the Montreal protocol and EC regulations seek to control the production but not the use of substances which deplete the ozone layer. However, the Department is helping to phase out ozone-depleting substances by refraining from purchasing or using them unless no suitable alternative is available.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will provide details from the maintenance and servicing record of the quantity and type of ozone-destroying chemicals used annually in his Department's refrigeration and air conditioning equipment for servicing and in leakages; and what proportion is removed for recycling.

§ Mr. Forth
This information is not collected centrally. Property Holdings, or its appointed contractors, maintain all the Department's refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and keep associated service records, under its standard option arrangements.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many CFC and HCFC installations are contained within departmental buildings; and how many CFC domestic fridges are contained within departmental buildings.

§ Mr. Forth
Property Holdings is responsible for the maintenance of the air-conditioning and refrigeration plant in all the Department's buildings. Technical information on these installations is not held by the Department.
The Department has 57 CFC domestic fridges.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what quantity of HCFC 22 is purchased by his Department per annum.
701W

§ Mr. Forth
The Department does not make any direct purchases of HCFC22. Property Holdings, or its appointed contractors, is responsible for making purchases of such material for the Department under its Standard Option arrangements.