Handover of Hydrocarbon Leak Detectors

Trinidad and Tobago is continuing to phase out ozone depleting substances as required by the Montreal Protocol to which this country is signatory. The Ministry through the National Ozone Unit has been conducting training and sensitization sessions on an alternative refrigerant, hydrocarbon refrigerant, which is ozone friendly as well as climate friendly. It is anticipated that this new refrigerant will become more prevalent on the market as the hydrochlorofluorocarbon 22  (HCFC 22 or R 22) equipment is phased out. All assembled HCFC equipment such as R 22 air conditioning units are no longer allowed as at January 1, 2015. As part of the efforts to support the air conditioning and refrigeration sector in the use of this new hydrocarbon refrigerant leak detectors are being distributed to service shops and technicians to ensure that good and safe refrigeration practices are employed by service technicians during installing and servicing of equipment. The photo below shows Ms. Vidiah Ramkhelawan Permanent Secretary Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources distributing the equipment to companies in the sector.

Partnering with the Financial Sector for Ozone Layer Protection Awareness

New applicants for loans and mortgages can look out for useful information on making smart choices when purchasing equipment such as air conditioning unit and domestic refrigerators for their homes. The National Ozone Unit held a sensitization session on April 14 2015 with members of the financial sector to develop a collaboration which would be used to disseminate information to consumers and home owners. This will be done through brochures and the uploading of information to the various websites. The participants were very interested in the partnership and took part actively in the discussions as seen below.

 

 

Prize Giving Ceremony for World Ozone Day Competition

The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources distributed prizes to the winning participants in the National Ozone Unit’s Poster Competition where kids were asked to submit poster on ozone layer depletion and saving the ozone layer.

This country is signatory to the Montreal Protocol and is obligated to phase out substances that damage the ozone layer together with all other 197 signatories. The children were able to display creatively the value of the ozone layer being a natural UV shield, without which life on earth can be harmed by UV rays causing skin cancer, eye cataracts and weakened immune systems.  Trinidad and Tobago has phased out all imports of the refrigerant chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) since 2008 and is now phasing out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) since January 1, 2013.  From the start of this year all assembled HCFC equipment such as R 22 air conditioning units are no longer allowed. The posters below are from the winning entries in the two categories Andrew Raghunanan (shown first)  and Stacey Jagoonanan (shown second) and all the  prize winners of the Competition (shown last).