§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the environmental and human consequences of fighting a fire with the chemical Halon 1301.
§ Mr. Trippier[holding answer 23 October 1990]: Halon 1301 is a powerful ozone-depleting chemical and an effective fire-fighting agent of low toxicity. Under the Montreal protocol halon production and consumption 325W will be cut by 50 per cent. by 1995 and phased out by 2000 except for a limited number of essential uses, to be decided internationally by 1993 and kept under review thereafter.