U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Methyl Bromide Inventory
Data Shows Downward Trend
Release date: 09/07/2006
Contact
Information: John Millett, (202) 564-4355 / millett.john@epa.gov
(9/7/06)
Today EPA released data showing a steady decline in the aggregate methyl bromide
inventory held by companies in the United States since 2003, when the Agency
began collecting such information.
Methyl bromide is a widely used soil
fumigant that is also a powerful ozone-depleting substance. Under the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Clean Air Act, the
United States phased out new production and import of methyl bromide, except for
allowable exemptions for users who have no technically and economically feasible
alternatives. Methyl bromide needs for these critical uses are met through
allowable production under the Montreal Protocol's exemption process as well as
the use of existing inventory held by companies in the United States.
The data includes, in aggregate form, the inventory held by
approximately 35 companies in the United States from 2003 to 2005. The methyl
bromide inventory data shows a continued decrease - approximately 16,422 metric
tons in 2003, 12,994 metric tons in 2004, and 9,974 metric tons in 2005 - and
demonstrates that the United States is managing its domestic inventory
appropriately.
The phaseout of new production and import and the orderly
reduction in the existing inventory that facilitates transition to alternatives
are proceeding in a manner consistent with previous successful phaseouts of
ozone-depleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons. The
United States continues to protect the ozone layer and meet its obligations
under the Montreal Protocol while meeting the needs of American farmers.
Since 1994, the U.S. Government has invested over $150 million in
research and innovative technologies to promote alternatives to methyl bromide.
In addition, U.S. farmers have adopted innovative technologies to reduce methyl
bromide use and emissions, such as reduced methyl bromide concentrations in
mixtures, and the use of tarps to retain methyl bromide in the soil for longer
periods of time.
While not as highly damaging to the ozone layer as
other chemicals that have already been phased out (like chlorofluorocarbons, or
CFCs), scientists have reaffirmed methyl bromide status as a powerful
ozone-depleting chemical. The World Meteorological Organization and the United
Nations Environment Programme 2006 Scientific Assessment recently affirmed that
bromine continues to play a major role in stratospheric ozone depletion. The
ongoing transition to methyl bromide alternatives continues to be an important
priority for EPA.
EPA's release of the aggregate inventory numbers was
made possible by the conclusion of two lawsuits that had been brought to prevent
the release of the aggregate data.
For more information: www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr/
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