Vitebskoblpotrebsoyuz will stop using equipment with ozone-depleting substances by 2010

September 16, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. By 2010, Vitebskoblpotrebsoyuz trade enterprises plan to modernize and decommission all equipment operating with ozone-depleting substances, Tatiana Karpenko, chief specialist of the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, told a BELTA correspondent. With funds from the republican fund for supporting agricultural producers, outdated refrigeration equipment is also being replaced on dairy farms in the region. The implementation of these measures is part of the state policy on protecting the ozone layer and reducing the consumption of ozone-depleting substances, Tatiana Karpenko added. The main sector of ozone-depleting substance use (99.3%) is the refueling and charging of refrigeration equipment. As Tatiana Karpenko noted, enterprises in the region are carrying out a number of measures aimed at preserving the ozone layer. Among the most significant, she mentioned the reconstruction of refrigeration plants at the "Polimir" plant with a transition to ammonia as a refrigerant, equipping trade enterprises with refrigeration equipment using ozone-safe freons, changing the fire extinguishing system on railway rolling stock, and changing the cooling system technology at the "Vityaz" enterprise. In 1994, the UN General Assembly proclaimed September 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. In 1987, 36 countries, including Belarus, signed the Montreal Protocol, according to which the signatory countries must limit and completely cease the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. Currently, 197 countries worldwide have joined the protocol. -0-