Vietnam eliminates use of ozone-depleting chemicals

Vietnam will completely abolish the use of more than 500 tonnes of HCFC-141b, a chemical that damages the ozone layer, in the production of thermal insulation foam by the end of 2014, an official has said.
Vietnam will completely abolish the use of more than 500 tonnes ofHCFC-141b, a chemical that damages the ozone layer, in the production ofthermal insulation foam by the end of 2014, an official has said.

The move is part of the country’s efforts to reduce the use of HCFCsubstances by 10 percent from January 1, 2015 onwards, Nguyen Van Tue,Director of the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Changeunder the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, said.

The declaration was made at a workshop in Hanoi on October 21 tolaunch a project on the reduction of greenhouse gas and ozone-depletingsubstances (ODS) emissions through technology transfer in industrialrefrigeration.

Between now and 2019, Vietnamplans to cut the use of HCFC substances, mainly HCFC-22, by 900 tonnesfrom 3,600 tonnes at present. The chemical is mainly used inrefrigeration facilities, he added, noting that the country had alreadysuccessfully eliminated the import and use of CFCs, halons and CTCs,which are also ozone-depleting substances, between 1995 and 2010.

As part of the project, Vietnam will choose alternativetechnologies and substances that are considered safe for the ozone layerand the climate system, as set out by the Montreal Protocol on ODS.

To assist the country’s efforts, the United Nations IndustrialDevelopment Organisation (UNIDO) worked with the department to designthe project.

As a party to the Montreal Protocolsince January 1994, Vietnam is obliged to eradicate the use of theODS and is entitled to financial and technological assistance.

UNIDO Representative in Vietnam Patrick Gilabert said that as part ofthe project UNIDO and equipment suppliers will deliver hydrocarbontechnology to businesses that use refrigeration facilities.

The success of the project will act a basis for further actions in the future, he added.-VNA

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