Wednesday 14 March 2012

Halon phase-out


" Halon Phase-out:

The 1992 Meeting of the Parties in Copenhagen decided to phase out consumption and production of halons in developed countries by January 1st, 1994. Parties operating under Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol have a 10-year grace period where production for basic domestic needs is still allowed. In addition, Parties can ask for an exemption on production and consumption for essential end users under certain conditions.

At the same meeting, the Parties decided to allow unrestricted trade of recycled halons provided that the relevant data are reported to the UNEP under the procedures of the Protocol. These decisions make an orderly transition to fire protection without halons possible.

Existing valuable or critical installations can be protected  by halons until other arrangements have been made. In addition, the decisions allow time to for alternative means of protection to be developed for installations where other fire extinguishing systems are not adequate.



The importance of halon banks:

These decisions have made it important to plan for the recycling and reuse of halons. This will:

·         Facilitate the transfer of available halon from one user to satisfy the need s of another;

·         Discourage emissions into the atmosphere ;and

·         Mitigate the need for consumption and production exemptions for  “essential users”



If global-banking can be made more productive it will mean that halon 1301 will be available for several decades and halon 1211 for at least 10 years. International cooperation is needed to ensure that one nation’s surplus halon is exported to meet the need s of another nation. This especially true for developing nations which have minimal internal banks due to their restricted number of installations.”

Halon Management: Banking for the Future - UNEP IE/PAC

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