Notice to users of controlled substances in the European Union allowed for essential uses in the Community in 2006 under Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council on ‘substances that deplete the ozone layer’ (1)

(2005/C 168/03)

This notice concerns the following substances:

This notice is addressed to users that intend to:

Controlled substances for essential uses may be obtained from production within the Community and, if necessary, by import from sources outside the Community.

Decision IV/25 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer sets out criteria and a procedure for determining ‘essential uses’ for which continued production and consumption is allowed after phase-out.

Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000, as amended in Regulation (EC) No 2038/2000, requires the determination of quantities for essential uses of the abovementioned controlled substances which may be permitted in the Community in 2006, in accordance with Decision IV/25 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

The Parties to the Montreal Protocol may take a Decision in December 2005 that authorises the maximum levels of production and consumption necessary to satisfy essential uses of CFCs in 2006 for metered dose inhalers (MDIs) for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases as specified in Annex I, subject to the conditions established by the Meeting of the Parties in paragraph 2 of its Decision VII/28.

In accordance with Decision X/19 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, the purity of controlled substances for laboratory purposes should be at least 99,0 % for 1,1,1-trichloroethane and 99,5 % for CFCs and carbon tetrachloride. These high purity substances and mixtures containing controlled substances shall be supplied only in re-closable containers or high pressure cylinders smaller than three litres or in 10 millilitre or smaller glass ampoules, marked clearly as substances that deplete the ozone layer, restricted to laboratory use and analytical purposes and specifying that used or surplus substances should be collected and recycled, if practical. The material should be destroyed following the procedures described in Article 16(1) of the Regulation if recycling is not practical.

Decision XV/8 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol authorises the production and consumption necessary to satisfy essential uses of controlled substances listed in Annexes A, B and C (Group II and III substances) of the Montreal Protocol for laboratory and analytical uses as listed in Annex IV to the report of the Seventh Meeting of the Parties, subject to the conditions set out in Annex II to the report of the Sixth Meeting of the Parties.

Currently there are no exemptions permitted in the Montreal Protocol for the use of methyl bromide for laboratory and analytical uses and therefore all uses of methyl bromide in the European Community are not in compliance with the Regulation. Intended users are requested to contact the Commission at the address below, or to contact the ODS website http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ods/home/home.cfm for further information under ‘Methyl bromide Laboratory and Analytical Uses’.

The procedures for allocating quantities of controlled substances for the above essential uses carried out under Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 and Regulation (EC) No 2038/2000 is the following:

(1)  OJ L 244 of 29.9.2000, p. 1 as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2077/2004, OJ L 359 of 4.12.2004, p. 28.