Refrigerant Identifier Equipment Handover to TTBS

The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has joined forces with the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) to better monitor the imports of refrigerants to ensure the quality and safety of refrigerants used in the air conditioning and refrigeration sector in Trinidad and Tobago. This alliance will improve national efforts to address the global issue of depletion of the ozone layer, as well as provide for stricter control on the quality of refrigerants being brought into the country. The Ministry has provided 3 Multi-refrigerant Identifiers to the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standard (TTBS) to aid in this monitoring effort. This is one of the initiatives taken on by the Ministry to phase out Ozone Depleting Gases under the Montreal Protocol. 

All refrigerants and refrigerating equipment are under control of the Import and Export Negative Lists and require a license.  All imports of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been banned since December 31 2007.  Restriction on Imports of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) began in January 2013.

There will also be a ban on imports of equipment using HCFCs such as R 22 effective January 1^st  2015. This will include all HCFC based air-conditioning or refrigeration equipment including any air-cooling, heating or dehumidifying unit or system, refrigeration or freezer unit, equipment or system, display cabinets, bottle coolers, vending machines, dispensing units and soda fountains.

 

From Left to Right; Dr. Marissa Gowrie, Mr. Theodore Reddock, Mr. Steve Williams, Mr. Errol Ramjohn, Mrs. Vidiah Ramkhelawan.

Establishment of a Cabinet Appointed Committee to guide the implementation of the Montreal Protocol in Trinidad and Tobago

  

As of February, 2014, a Cabinet Appointed Committee was established to guide the implementation of the Montreal Protocol in Trinidad and Tobago.

Led by the National Ozone Unit of the Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, the Committee consists of representatives from the:

·         Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS)

·         Environmental Management Authority (EMA)

·         Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Association (ARIA)

·         Ministry of Legal Affairs,

·         Ministry of Trade,

·         Trade Licensing Unit,

·         Ministry of Health - Chemistry Food and Drugs Division

·         Plant Quarantine Division of the Ministry of Food Production,

·         Customs and Excise Division of the Ministry of Finance and The Economy

·         Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs and

·         the Tobago House of Assembly

The Committee is charged with the responsibility to guide and provide oversight for the (Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) Phase out Management Plan (HPMP) in Trinidad and Tobago. The phase out involves the reduction of imports and consumption of these ozone depleting chemicals through a phased approach. It is also charged with the responsibility to provide input on the HPMP activities including legislation, standards, public awareness initiatives and training in new alternatives that are both Ozone and Climate friendly to benefit stakeholders. The refrigeration and air conditioning sector, the fumigation sector and the foam manufacturing sector are the primary stakeholders in this phase out.

Four new man-made gases that are contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer

According to the BBC news, scientists have identified four new man-made gases that are contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer.

Two of the gases are accumulating at a rate that is causing concern among researchers.

Worries over the growing ozone hole have seen the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases restricted since the mid 1980s.

But the precise origin of these new, similar substances remains a mystery.

Three of the ozone damaging gases are CFCs and one is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC).

The Mysterious gases are:

•  CFC-112, CFC112a, CFC-113a, HCFC-133a
• CFC-113a has been listed as an "agrochemical intermediate for the manufacture of pyrethroids", a type of insecticide once widely used in agriculture
• CFC-113a and HCFC-133a are intermediaries in the production of widely used refrigerants
• CFC-112 and 112a may have been used in the production of solvents used to clean electrical components

Read more at the link below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26485048

First in a Series of One Day Workshops on Hydrocarbon Refrigerant