Stockpiled Risk: Fridges, Waste Management and the Montreal Protocol. Simon Gerrard and Horst Rakel, CERM, UEA, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK, telephone +44 1603 592547; fax +44 1603 507719; e-mail S.Geffard@uea.ac.uk
Under
the Montreal Protocol the European Union (EU) phased out production of
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in 1995. However, the Montreal Protocol does not
cover the recycling or disposal of CFCs that are already in use. In 1986, over
300,000 tonnes of CFCs were sold in the EU, with nearly half being used as
aerosol propellants. By 1993 this had been reduced to 80,000 tomes with over two-thirds
of the market being dominated by refrigeration and foam blowing. With most of
the CFC-refrigerators still in operation and the foam primarily used in the
building industry, EU countries have stockpiled a large amount of CFCs in their
households, cars and buildings. In the UK, for example, the CFC bank held within
the construction industry is estimated to be in the region of 70,000 tonnes. The
authors estimate that in the UK CFC emissions released from scrapping domestic
refrigerators alone are in the region from 1,000-3,000 tons annually. However,
contributions from these diffuse sources do not enter official statistics.
In
the UK, the problem of CFC emissions from diffuse sources is believed to be
adequately managed through the degassing of domestic refrigeration equipment.
Polyurethane (PU) foam is considered a non-emissive source since the CFCs are
enclosed in small bubbles in the foam matrix and hence are assumed not to be
released. However, in 1995 the authors conducted a survey of the waste
management arrangements of local authorities and visited several recycling
facilities in the UK They found that this assumption does not correspond with
current waste management practices. Disused refrigerators are often not degassed
or are deliberately vented in order to recover the scrap metal value and casings
are shredded thereby releasing CFCs contained in the PU foam. Monitoring of
landfill gas also indicates an, albeit slower, release of CFCs from PU foams
buried in landfills.
The
survey also showed that the whereabouts of recovered CFCs remains largely
unknown to the responsible authorities. Worldwide the issue of CFC releases has
recently attracted renewed attention and the effectiveness of international
agreements has been called into question. Recent reports have highlighted the
illegal trade in CFCs, for example from Mexico or Russia into the United States.
The current market value for recycled CFCs lies in the area of eight dollars per
pound and is rising fast. In some areas this has led to an increase in black
market dealings with CFCs that now rivals transnational drug smuggling.
Using
the UK as a case study, the authors conclude that the original intentions of the
Montreal Protocol are partly undermined by inadequate management strategies and
insufficient regulatory attention. It is argued that effectiveness can be
improved by focussing on three major areas: recycling technology; collection and
handling schemes; and qualification and quality assurance with contractors. The
current practices should be thoroughly scrutinised to see whether they produce
the assumed environmental benefit, particularly when no information about
extracted refrigerants exists, credible recycling and disposal routes are not
used and the quality of the recovery process is not assured.
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