Ozone depletion Montreal Protocol

Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ocyone Eayer, 3rd ed.. Ozone Secretariat, United Nations Environmental Program, Nairobi, 1993. 

Finally, nitromethane has been used in large quantities as a stabilizer for 1,1,1-trichloroethane. The use of this degreasing solvent is expected to decHne and disappear under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol (116), which bans ozone-depleting substances, of which this is one. 

Confirmation of the destmetion of ozone by chlorine and bromine from halofluorocarbons has led to international efforts to reduce emissions of ozone-destroying CPCs and Halons into the atmosphere. The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (150) (and its 1990 and 1992 revisions) calls for an end to the production of Halons in 1994 and CPCs, carbon tetrachloride, and methylchloroform byjanuary 1, 1996. In 1993, worldwide production of CPCs was reduced to 50% of 1986 levels of 1.13 x 10 and decreases in growth rates of CPC-11 and CPC-12 have been observed (151). 

The demand for trichloroethylene grew steadily until 1970. Since that time trichloroethylene has been a less desirable solvent because of restrictions on emissions under air pollution legislation and the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Whereas previously the principal use of trichloroethylene was for vapor degreasing, currentiy 1,1,1-trichloroethane is the most used solvent for vapor degreasing. The restrictions on production of 1,1,1-trichloroethane [71-55-6] from the 1990 Amendments to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the stratospheric ozone and the U.S. 

In the last decade, the refrigerant issue is extensively discussed due to the accepted hypothesis that the chlorine and bromine atoms from halocarbons released to the environment were using up ozone in the stratosphere, depleting it specially above the polar regions. Montreal Protocol and later agreements ban use of certain CFCs and halon compounds. It seems that all CFCs and most of the HCFCs will be out of produc tion by the time this text will be pubhshed. 

Ozone Layer was signed, which set a timetable for phasing out the production and use of CFCs, including halons. The date for phaseout of the manufacture of halons according to the latest Copenhagen Meeting was January 1, 1994 (UNEP, Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer—Final Act 1987, 1987). 

The new law buUds on the market-based structure and requirements currently contained in EPA s regulations to phase out the production of substances that deplete the ozone layer. The law requires a complete phase-out of CFCs and halons with interim reductions and some related changes to the existing Montreal Protocol, revised in June 1990. 

Recognition of the threat of stratospheric ozone depletion posed by chlorofluorocarbons and chloro-fltiorohydrocarbons led 131 countries to sign the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Production of chlorofluorocarbons was banned as of January 1, 1996, because of their potential to further deplete stratospheric ozone. Chlorofluorohydrocarboiis will be... 

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The phase-out of CFCs began on Jnly 1, 1989, and by 1997, a hydroflnorcarbon, HFC134a, with zero ozone depletion potential, became the dominant refrigerant in the United States. The phase-out of CFCs in developing countries is on a slower schedule. 

An additional area of concern with respect to stratospheric ozone is possible direct emissions of NOj into the stratosphere by high-flying supersonic aircraft. This issue has come up repeatedly over the past 20 years, as air travel and pressure from commercial airlines has increased. However, despite substantial research effort to understand stratospheric chemistry, the question is complicated by the changing levels of stratospheric chlorine, first due to a rapid accumulation of tropospheric CFCs, followed by a rapid decline in CFC emissions due to the Montreal Protocol. To quote from the from the 1994 WMO/UN Scientific assessment of ozone depletion, executive summary (WMO 1995) ... 

Several of the commercially available 16,000 chlorinated and brominated compounds have already been regulated or harmed, CFCs, DDT and chlorinated biphenyls are typical examples. Many others are being phased out according to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. This includes chlorinated solvents, methyl bromide and halons (e.g. CF3Br). The milder ozone destroyers, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) will also, eventually, be phased out. 

Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, 26 1LM 1541, 1987. 

New Stricter Environmental Standards based on UN Protocols Kyoto (GHGs) Montreal (ozone-depleting chemicals CFCs, etc) (e.g., Canada s New Model Energy Code for Housing that reduces GHGs). 

Batchelor, T. 1998. Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. United Nations Environmental Program. Assessment of alternatives to methyl bromide. Methyl bromide technical... 

India has reached an agreement with the Multilateral Fund set up under the Montreal Protocol for phasing out production of CFCs and to shut down plants producing ozone-depleting substances. India is to receive 12m US dollars during 1999 and 11m US dollars for 2000 and 2001, with 6m US dollars for every subsequent year until 2009. Production is to fall from 20,706 tonnes in 2000 to 1130 tonnes by 2009. Complete phaseout will take place in 2010, except for CFCs to meet essential requirements. This abstract includes all the information contained in the original article. 

There is a need to verify whether ozone-depleting compound emissions have truly decreased since the passage of the Montreal Protocol. 

What does seem to be clear is that without the international agreements reached in Montreal, London, and Copenhagen, the problem of ozone depletion would probably have been much worse than it is today. The graph on page 79 shows the trends in ozone depletion (as measured by the concentration of chlorine in the stratosphere) that would have been seen in the absence of no agreement at all, with the Montreal Protocol alone, and with later amendments to that agreement. 

---