Indonesia sets up National Halon Bank
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In observance of the 16th International Ozone Day, Indonesia inaugurated a National Halon Bank in a bid to help achieve the country's target of eliminating the use of ozone-depleting products (ODPs) by 2007.
Halon, a gas that is usually used by the aviation industry, is included on the ODP list.
The bank will be operated by the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF)-AeroAsia, which is located at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.
GMF-AeroAsia officer Wildan Rajiman said here on Tuesday that the government had appointed the company to run the bank after it won a contract from the Office of the State Minister for the Environment on March 22, 2000.
According to Wildan, the halon bank will be equipped with the technology needed to reclaim or recycle Halon 1211 and 1301, as well as a storage tank for the recycled or reclaimed halon.
Under the contract, GMF-AeroAsia will also be responsible for preventing the recycled or reclaimed halon from being used again.
The bank will come under the supervision of the National Ozone Unit at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, which will monitor and survey halon supply and consumption.
"The bank is ready to support the country's commitment to stopping ODP usage," said Wildan.
Gunardi, an assistant to the environment minister on atmospheric and climate change, said that halon was one of the ODPs that were most frequently used due to the absence of a suitable substitute, which was why the government had organized the setting up of the bank to store recycled or reclaimed halon.
He said that freon (CFC 11, CFC 12 and CFC 113) was still the biggest contributor to ozone layer depletion in Indonesia. Freon has been used for years in the industrial sector.
In daily usage, products that employ freon include refrigerators, various types of foam and air-conditioners.
"Indonesia does not produce ODPs but imports them from China and India," Gunardi said, adding that Indonesia no longer imported freon-based products in order to demonstrate its commitment to stopping ODP usage.
Between 1994 and 2002, Indonesia managed to eliminate some 4,000 tons of ODPs with financial assistance from several international institutions.
Gunardi said that Indonesia still had to eliminate an additional 5,000 tons of ODPs used in a wide variety of products here.
The consumption of ODPs is estimated to amount to an average of 0.03 kilograms per capita per year, far below the maximum limit of 0.3 kilograms per capita.
Indonesia has targeted the halting of ODP imports by 2007, three years earlier than the deadline of 2010 set by the Montreal Protocol. Indonesia is one of the signatories to the protocol.
Most countries, especially industrialized ones, have been encouraged to adopt the protocol because damage to the ozone layer allows more ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth's surface, with serious consequences for human, animal and plant health.