THE ARMY could be called in to collect stockpiles of unwanted refrigerants from around the world.
Military personnel from Australia, the Netherlands and the United States are offering to help countries safely collect Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) as part of a partnership between the United Nations, governments and the armed forces.

Military experts will give support and advice on the shipping, labeling and other logistical procedures needed to fast-track the chemicals to disposal centers in around the globe.

Partnership countries include Argentina, Australia, Micronesia, Mauritius, the Netherlands and the US.

The partnership could dramatically cut the costs of the disposal of chemicals such as HCFCs and CFCs to a third or less of the current market cost.

The partnership was discussed at the 8th Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention and 20th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Doha on November 20.

Several armed forces have existing contracts already in place for destroying ozone-damaging chemicals found as gases and foams in old military air-conditioning units and other kinds of army, navy and air force equipment.

It is hoped that by joining forces, civilian destruction programmes will benefit from these low cost contracts, making them cheaper and more attractive to undertake.

The new initiative will see the coordination of an international 'clearing house' to match supply with demand by connecting countries requiring ODS destruction to those having proper destruction facilities available. They will try to minimize transport distances and maximize effectiveness.

James L. Connaughton, chairman of the US Council on Environmental Quality said: 'Experts who responsibly manage military ozone-depleting substances can transfer that know-how throughout the world to recover and destroy a significant portion of unwanted or unusable ozone-depleting substances.'