India has successfully achieved the complete phase out of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b, which is a chemical used by foam manufacturing enterprises and one of the most potent ozone depleting chemical after Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
(HCFC)-141 b is used mainly as a blowing agent in the production of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams.
On 31 December, 2019, as part of the Government’s commitment for moving towards environment friendly technologies, in a significant first, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) brought out a notification through which the issuance of import license for HCFC-141b is prohibited from 1st January, 2020 under Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2019 issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
This chemical is not produced in the country and all the domestic requirements are met through imports.
With this notification, prohibiting the import, the country has completely phased out the important ozone depleting chemical.
The phase out of HCFC-141b from the country has twin environmental benefits viz.
- assisting the healing of the stratospheric ozone layer,and
- towards the climate change mitigation due to transitioning of foam manufacturing enterprises at this scale under HCFC Phase out Management Plan (HPMP) to low global warming potential alternative technologies
Simultaneously, the use of HCFC-141 b by foam manufacturing industry has also been closed as on 1st January, 2020 under the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2014.
This is a Press Information Bureau feed; edited by Clean-Future Team