IV

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 291

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a Presidential

commission should be established to investigate whether there has been

any measurable depletion of stratospheric ozone beyond that caused by

natural phenomena, whether it has been proven that the use of

chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric ozone, and whether the phaseout of chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on stratospheric ozone.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 28, 1993

Mr. DOOLITTLE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Energy and Commerce

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that

a Presidential commission should be established to investigate whether there has been any measurable depletion

of stratospheric ozone beyond that caused by natural

phenomena, whether it has been proven that the use

of chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric ozone, and

whether the phaseout of chloroflourocarbons will have

any effect on stratospheric ozone.

Whereas, based on the theory that man-made chemicals contribute to ozone depletion and are responsible for the

thinning of the ozone layer in the stratosphere and the

creation of the ‘‘ozone hole’’, the United States in 1987

signed the Montreal Protocol to ban chloroflourocarbons
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(hereinafter in this preamble referred to as ‘‘CFCs’’) by

the year 2000;

Whereas on February 17, 1992, the United States made a

further unilateral commitment to complete the phaseout

of CFCs by 1995;

Whereas substantial questions have been raised by many

prominent scientists regarding the validity of the theory

that the ozone layer in the stratosphere is thinning and

that man-made chemicals cause such thinning;

Whereas scientists have challenged the accuracy and interpretation of the data that are being used to support the

claim that the ozone layer is thinning;

Whereas scientists have pointed out that the seasonal variation in the thickness of the ozone layer above Antarctica

was first measured in the mid-1950s by British scientist

Gordon Dobson, as well as by a French scientific team,

BEFORE the use of CFCs became extensive;

Whereas it has been alleged that it is the chlorine in the

CFCs that breaks down ozone molecules and causes a

thinning in the ozone layer, even though 600 million tons

of chlorine are released each year into the atmosphere

from the evaporation of seawater and 36 million tons of

chlorine are released each year from volcanoes, compared

to only 7,500 tons of chlorine released from the breakdown of CFCs;

Whereas CFCs thus contribute about 1 thousandth of 1 percent of the total amount of chlorine released into the atmosphere by natural sources;

Whereas it is estimated that the mandated phaseout of CFCs

may require the replacement of 610 million refrigerators

and freezers, 120 million cold storage units, 150 million
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automobile air conditioners, and several thousand refrigeration units used for the storage of medicine, blood supplies, and vaccines, because the approved replacement

chemical cannot be used in existing refrigeration systems;

Whereas CFCs are noncorrosive, nontoxic, safe, and relatively

inexpensive to produce;

Whereas the main refrigerant replacement approved by the

Environmental Protection Agency to replace freon, one of

the CFCs, not only requires different equipment but is

toxic, costly, and so corrosive that it will require replacement of the equipment in which it is being used every 3

to 7 years;

Whereas it is estimated by the refrigeration industry that the

cost of replacement of equipment in which CFCs are

being used in the United States and the increased cost

of the replacement refrigerant could cost industry and

consumers $2 trillion;

Whereas such replacement will mean an interruption in food

storage and preservation in the United States, where 75

percent of the food consumed is refrigerated through the

use of CFCs; and

Whereas such a delay in the development and an interruption

in the food delivery chain will have particularly severe effects in the developing countries, where it could cause an

estimated additional 20 to 40 million deaths per year

from disease and starvation: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that—

3 (1) a Presidential commission should be estab4 lished to investigate whether there has been any
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1 measurable depletion of stratospheric ozone beyond

2 the seasonal variations caused by natural phenom3 ena, such as the Arctic winter and loss of sunlight;

4 (2) such a commission should also investigate

5 whether it has been proven that the use of man6 made chloroflourocarbons damages stratospheric

7 ozone, and whether the phaseout of

8 chloroflourocarbons will have any effect on levels of

9 ozone in the stratosphere; and

10 (3) the membership of the commission should

11 be equally apportioned between representatives from

12 the scientific community whose published experi13 mental and theoretical research shows that

14 chloroflourocarbons have a negligible, if any, effect

15 on ozone depletion, and representatives whose re16 search makes contrary claims.

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