Ozone-depleting Substances To Be Phased Out In Nigeria By 2015

The Federal Ministry of Environment
says it will phase out the use of
trichloroethane substance by 2015 as
part of efforts to protect the ozone
layer. The Deputy Director, Pollution and
Environmental Health, in the ministry, Mr
Kashimu Bayero, told the News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday
that methyl bromide would also be
phased out by the same period. Trichloroethane (TCA) is a solvent used in
the cleaning industry and also used as a
processing agent while Methyl bromide is
a substance used for fumigation and
preservation in the agriculture industry. Bayero said that the ministry had set the
target for banning the use of the
substances in line with the deadline set
by the Montreal Protocol to phase out
ozone-depleting substances in
developing countries. The Montreal Protocol is an international
treaty designed to protect the ozone
layer by phasing out the production of
numerous substances believed to be
responsible for ozone depletion. “There are other substances which the
deadline for complete phase-out is 2015;
we have some solvents, we have what is
called TCA (Trichloroethane); it is a
solvent used in the processing industry. “Methyl bromide is also a chemical that is
used as a fumigant; it is preservation
chemical for agricultural products, it
helps to control pests against
vegetables, fruits and so on. “ It is very potent, with a very high
ozone-depleting potential; its ability to
destroy the ozone layer is very high; our
consumption of methyl bromide is very
minimal, almost close to zero. “We really don’t have any problem with
methyl bromide but there are countries
where it is a big issue, because they use
so much of it to preserve their grains;
they use it to preserve agricultural
products in shipment.’’ Bayero, a National Ozone Officer in the
ministry, also said that a lot had been
achieved under the Ozone-Depleting
Substances (ODS) Programme
nationwide. He said the ministry’s ODS phase-out
activities included the installation of
Ozone-friendly equipment or
retrofitting old ODS-based equipment to
ozone-friendly ones in the affected
sectors. According to him, this is to ensure that
ODS are no longer used by refrigeration,
manufacturing and servicing industries. Bayero said Nigeria met the deadline set
for phasing out Chlorofluorocarbons in
2010. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are used as
refrigerants and cooling agents in air
conditioners and in the manufacturing
of foams. “Nigeria no longer imports CFCs for such
uses, just as we have the responsibility
to phase out the use of these
substances, the developed countries
that manufacture these products also
have their own measures within the protocol. “There is what is called `common but
differentiated responsibilities’. So, part
of their responsibilities is to look for
alternatives, bring up new technologies
that are ozone-friendly. “ That is why it is easy to phase out CFCs
and there are alternatives; there’s what
is called HCFCs (Hydro-
chloroflurocarbons) like the refrigerant
22, these are trade names, that is one
example in the air conditioning and refrigeration sector. “In the foam sector, we have the Methyl
chloride, which is being used in place of
CFC 11. Bayero, however, said that the ministry
monitored the phasing out projects in
various industries from time to time, to
ensure their sustainability. The official said that the phasing out
activities had been supported by the
Multilateral Fund (MLF) for the
implementation of the Montreal
Protocol. He said that the fund was designed to
meet the special needs of developing
countries. According to him, Nigeria’s activities are
being supported by the fund through
implementing agencies such as UNDP,
UNIDO, GTZ proklima of Germany and
the World Bank. [NAN]