§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects British standard 4434 and the relevant European standards to be finalised for hydrocarbon refrigerants; and if he will make a statement on progress so far.
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§ Mr. Ian TaylorA meeting of a BSI committee to discuss an amendment to BS4434 to permit the use of hydrocarbons in refrigeration systems was held on 13 October. A proposed amendment to EN60335–2–24, which is the safety standard for domestic electrical refrigerators, to permit the use of hydrocarbon refrigerants will be debated in CENELEC, the European electrical standards body, in December.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he considers refrigeration systems that avoid the use of hydrocarbons to be best practice and therefore eligible for inclusion in his Department's best practice programme or demos programme.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorDEMOS—DTI's environmental management options scheme—is no longer open to applications for grant assistance.
The joint DTI/DOE environmental technology best practice programme, ETBPP, aims to promote better environmental performance and to increase the competitiveness of United Kingdom industry and commerce. Emphasis will be on waste minimisation and reducing pollution at source in the manufacturing process. In the selection of projects for inclusion in the programme, preference is given to those lying within the areas to which the programme is currently giving special attention. These areas are currently foundries, metal finishing/surface engineering and releases of volatile organic compounds. However, any project encompassing the use of cleaner technology can be considered for inclusion in the programme if it has sufficient merit and satisfies the announced selection criteria, including those relating to potential for stimulating national cost savings.
Those wishing to propose technologies and techniques to the programme should in the first instance contact the environmental helpline on 0800 585794.