As authorities at the National Ozone Unit (NOU) try to phase out the use of chemicals that harm the ozone layer, they are calling on all refrigerator and air condition[ing] technicians in the Bahamas to register with the unit.
“The registration process is to assist us to ensure that everyone in the refrigerator and air-conditioning industry is certified,” said Coral Miller, the ozone officer for the Bahamas and senior laboratory technologist at the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission (BEST).
On February 26, 2006 the House of Assembly passed the Montreal Protocol, which requires all refrigeration and air-condition technicians to be registered with the NOU to see where the technicians stand in the industry.
“Once the registration process has been completed we will then figure out those individuals who are certified versus those who are not,” Mrs. Miller said.
“Individuals who we find are certified according to the act they will be issued a certification card and those individuals who are not certified, the NOU will facilitate an arrangement where they can take a course to be certified,” she explained.
She said that when the law is enacted the public should not hire anyone who does not carry a National Ozone Unit certification card.
According to Mrs. Miller, the unit is responsible for establishing programmes to educate the technicians and the public about ozone depleting substances.
The unit is designed to assist the Bahamas in carrying out its obligations under the Montreal Protocol and was established on May 5, 1997 between the Government of the Bahamas and the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, which has been hailed as a landmark international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer, was originally signed in 1987 and amended in 1990 and 1992.
The treaty calls for the phasing out of the production and consumption of compounds that deplete the ozone in the stratosphere.
The Bahamas signed the treaty on May 4, 1993.
The Montreal Protocol Act legalizes the NOU as a body under BEST, which falls under the Ministry of Energy and the Environment.
The unit is also responsible for training customs officers to identify ozone depleting substances at ports so that such substances could be confiscated if they are deemed to be restricted.
There are certain controlled substances that are allowed in.
Pointing to the importance of what the unit is doing, Mrs. Miller said, “Once the ozone layer has been depleted or thins out this can cause health and environmental problem.”
She noted that some of these conditions include melanoma skin cancer, and cataracts that can eventually lead to blindness. Mrs. Miller also pointed out that aquatic life and the food cycle could be negatively impacted.
Some ozone depleting substances include Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), Hydro chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), and Methyl Bromide.
CFC’s are the most destructive of them all and are found in air-conditioning systems, commercial systems, refrigerators and foams for furniture, according to experts.
Methyl Bromide, an agricultural pesticide or soil fumigant, which is used to spray the soil to get rid of pests and weeds, is also listed as an ozone depleting substance. It is also used in developing countries to spray a lot of fruits and vegetables.
In the Bahamas, evidence has shown that Methyl Bromide has been used to fumigate termites, and there have been signs that it has been used on golf courses and the NOU is trying to discourage its use.
“The immediate concern of the National Ozone Unit is the fact that the Bahamas has to phase out all CFC’s by January 1, 2008,” Mrs. Miller said.
In order to comply with that the NOU is asking all refrigerator and air-condition technicians importing any CFC’s into the country to be aware of the date so that the Bahamas can fulfill its requirements under the Montreal Protocol.
Tyrone Paul, proprietor of Paul’s Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Services, who took part in some of the unit’s workshops, said it is beneficial for the air-condition and refrigerating technicians to take part in the programmes designed to educate them on ozone depleting substances.
He believes this could help foster better use and handling of the air-condition and refrigerator.
“We should be concerned about protecting our ozone and the welfare of our society,” Mr. Paul said.
Technicians seeking to register with the unit must bring in their drivers license, National Insurance card, passport or a valid voters card and certification document to BEST in the Nassau Court.
Mrs. Miller said that response from New Providence technicians has been excellent, but technicians in the Family Islands have been slow to register with the NOU.
By: Ian-Marie Darville, The Bahama Journal
