Ozone-depleting Chemicals (Hansard, 23 February 1993)

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which current uses of ozone-depleting chemicals by his Department are considered essential.

§ Mr. Aitken
Only a few critical applications of the ozone depleting substances within the Department are considered essential. These applications were rigorously selected in accordance with international criteria.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what date his Department's use of ozone-depleting chemicals will conform to EC Regulations on limits on these chemicals.

§ Mr. Aitken
Current EC regulations govern the supply of ozone-depleting substances, through production and consumption controls, to the market. No constraints are placed, other than by supply, on users such as the Ministry of Defence.

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

§ Mr. Aitken
The Department has sought and received guidance on alternatives or substitutes to the ozone-depleting substances it employs from a wide range of sources both at home and abroad. These include commercial specialists, Government Departments and agencies, consultants and British and foreign service users.
567W

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances become controlled waste in terms of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

§ Mr. Aitken
All those ozone-depleting substances consumed by this Department, once removed from their existing systems, become Controlled Waste under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

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

§ Mr. Aitken
Most of the applications using such chemicals will be converted to use non-ozone-depleting alternatives. Any material withdrawn will be recycled.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the quantity of ozone-depleting substances recycled within his Department and returned to the manufacturer.

§ Mr. Aitken
The Department returns ozone-depleting substances to suppliers for recycling under a number of individual supply and maintenance contracts. Information on the quantities transferred could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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

§ Mr. Aitken
The cost of our programme to phase out usage of ozone-depleting substances is being evaluated. However, £10 million has already been allocated for recycling and banking.

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

§ Mr. Aitken
Releases of ozone-depleting substances to the atmosphere have been monitored by my Department for the past three years. No major releases have been reported over that period.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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. Aitken
It is this Department's policy to prevent emissions of ozone-depleting substances to the atmosphere during maintenance, servicing, decommissioning and disposal. This is achieved through a wide range of measures, including the use of reclamation equipment and the provision of secondary seals.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details from the maintenance and servicing record of the quantity and type of ozone-destroying chemicals used annually in the Department's refrigeration and air conditioning equipment for servicing and in leakages; and what proportion is removed for recycling.
568W

§ Mr. Aitken
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action has been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances consumed by the Department are identified as controlled wastes when they are no longer in use.

§ Mr. Aitken
It is my Department's policy that all ozone-depleting substances when no longer required are treated as controlled waste, and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.