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COM (83) 284 
 
 
 
Vol. 1983/0 114 
  
 
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COMMISSION OF THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 
COM(83)  284  final 
Brussels,  31  May 1983 
COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE COMMISSION TO THE  COUNCIL 
Chlorofluocarbons  in the  environment  : 
Reexamination  of the  situation 
COM(83)  284  final 

COMMUNICATION  FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
Chlorofluorocarbons  in the  environment  : 
Reexamination  of the  situation 
I. Introduction 
II. Current  Scientific  Situation 
III. Economic Data 
IV. The Action  Programme in the  sectors  of Refrigeration, 
Foam Plastics  and Solvents 
V. International  Activities 
VI. Conclusions 

I. INTRODUCTION 
The emission  of chlorofLuorocarbons  (CFCs)  into the atmosphere  is 
one of the  potential  sources  of di sturbance  to the  equi Librium  of the 
atmosphere.  Community  poLicy  in this area has focused  on 
precautionary  measures  that seek a balance  between  the possible 
dangerous  effect  on man and the  environment  and the  socioeconomic 
impacts of reducing  the use of CFCs. 
The steps taken  until now by the Community are the  following  : 
1. Council Resolution  of 30 May 1978 (1) 
2. Council Decision  80/372/EEC of 26  March 1980 (2) 
3. Council Decision  82/795/EEC of 15 November 1982 (3) 
The Commission  has sent to the  Council  a number of  Communications 
on this matter,  the last one on 7  June 1982 (4). The  last Council 
Decision maintained  the cap on  production capacity  of CFC 11 and 
12 instituted  by the  previous Decision,  called for action in the 
non-aerosol  sectors,  and required (art.3) that: 
"The measures  taken in pursuance  of Decision  80/372/EEC and  this 
Decision  shall be reexamined  not later than 30 June 1983 in the 
light of the  scientific  and economic  data available.  To this end. 
Member States  shall,  subject  to considerations  of commercial 
confidentiality,  provide  the Commission  with the results  of any 
study or research  available  to them. The  Council  shall adopt,  as 
soon as possible  and in any  event not later than 31 December 1983, 
on a proposal  from the Commission,  such further  measures as may be 
necessary  in the  light of reexamination." 
This Communication  is intended to provide basic  elements  for 
such a reexamination. 
(1) O.J. C 133, 7.6.1978 
(2) Decision  80/372/EEC - O.J. L 90, 3.4.1980 
(3) Decision  82/795/EEC - O.J. L 329, 25.11.1982 
(4) COM (82) 307  final,  7.6.1982 

2 
II. CURRENT  SCIENTIFIC  SITUATION 
A number of scientific  assessments  have come to the  attention 
of the Commission,  the most recent of which is the one  done 
by the UNEP  Coordinating  Committee  on the  Ozone Layer (CCOL) 
during the meeting  held in Geneva on 5 - 11  April 1983. 
The Committee  concluded that  the ozone layer can be  affected 
by a number of man-made and  natural processes  in a complex 
manner. If one  considers only  CFC 11 and 12  releases  at their 
present rates, current calculations estimate  an eventual reduction 
in the total ozone column  of about 3 to 5  percent,  compared  to 
about 5 to 10  percent estimated  in the  last CCOL  report. 
Multiple  scenario calculations involving also other  substances 
such as CO.,, N.,0, N0x, CH^  estimate  little  change  in the  total 
ozone column  over the next decades,  but do  predict substantial 
redistribution  of the  atmospheric  ozone  with possible attendant 
climatic  effects. 
Ill ECONOMIC DATA 
Since 1976, the  Commission  has been receiving  total Community 
annual figures  of production  and sales of CFC 11 and 12  which 
the European  chlorofluorocarbon  producers  provide using  the CFC 
data collection  mechanism  described  in the  Communication  of 
26 May 1981 (1). 
The data collected since  1976 is  summarized  in Annex I. 
(1) COM (81) 261  final 26.5.1981 

3 
It is worth pointing out that in 1982 the use in aerosols 
was 111,712  tonnes  (including  Greece)  i.e. it continued to 
decline:  the achieved reduction is  about 37 % with respect to the 
levels of use in  T976, thus surpassing the 30 % reduction 
required  by the Council Decision  80/372/EEC. 
Conversely, the use of CFC 11 and 12 continued to increase in 
the areas  of use other  than aerosols, especially in the  foam 
plastics  area.  Finally,  the production of CFC 11 and 12 
including  imports declined to  288,979  tonnes  in 1982, a 
decrease  of 11.5% since 1976, while the  total sales in the 
Community  were 206,762  in 1982, a  decrease  of 15.3% since 1976. 
Using the  same data collection  mechanism  it was reported that 
the total production of CFC 113 and 114 in the EEC was less 
than 45,000  tonnes  in 1982. 
IV. THE ACTION  PROGRAMME  IN THE SECTORS  OF REFRIGERATION , 
FOAM PLASTICS  AND SOLVENTS 
The Council Decision  82/795/EEC  recognized the  need for taking 
action to reduce  the emissions of  CFCs where  practicable 
in the sectors of  refrigeration,  foam plastics  and solvents. 
Consequently,  the Commission  undertook  an action  programme 
towards  this goal with the help of national and industry experts. 
The following  results  have been achieved to  date : 
a) Refrigeration : A  code of good practice on the design, 
manufacture,  use and servicing of  refrigeration  equipment. 

4 
The code describes  the best technology  available at 
this moment  in order  to reduce  emission  of chlorofluorocarbon 
refrigerants in the  atmosphere  during  use, servicing and 
eventual  disposal. 
b) Solvents  : A code of good practice on the  design,  manufacture, 
use and servicing of  equipment  in which CFCs are used as 
solvents. The  code includes instructions  about  the recycling 
of used CFC either by the correct  operation  of the  equipme' 
as a distillation  unit or  using  a distillation  unit desiried 
for this purpose,  or employing  a specialized  outside  company. 
Solvent  that is too heavily  contaminated  should  be sent to 
a solvent disposal organization for disposal. 
For the control of  emissions  during  the operation  of the 
equipment  the possibility  of using carbon  absorption 
systems  was examined.  The proper  evaluation of the 
feasibility  of this process  primarily for larger scale 
equipment  would  require its testing  under  actual plant 
conditions. 
c) Rigid  foam plastics  : A code of good practice dealing with 
the emissions  of CFCs that can  occur  in 
the manufacture  of slab  polyurethane  foam used in the 
construction industry. 

5 
These codes of practice  have largely  the acceptance of 
the relevant trade associations of manufacturers and users 
of such equipment  with whose  active  cooperation they  have 
been developed.  These  associations  will provide  shortly 
the Commission  with a written  form of their  icceptance 
of the codes  and of  their cooperation in  their application. 
d) Flexible  foam plastics  : A pilot plant has  been established 
in Denmark  during  early 1983 with the support of a  manu­
facturer  of polyurethane  foam,  the manufacturer of  control 
equipment  and the Danish  government.  This plant  will assess 
the feasibility  of recovering  CFCs from plant  ventilation 
air by its absorption on  active  carbon.  First  results  are 
expected in the  second  half of 1983. 
For this type of  foam,where  very little  CFC remains  in the 
foam after its production, disposal presents no  problem 
with respect to CFC emissions. 

6 
V. INTERNATIONAL  ACTIVITIES 
Following  the authorization  of the  Council  (1) the  Commission 
has been  participating  on behalf of the  Community  in the 
negotiations  for the  elaboration  of a framework  convention  for 
the protection  of the  ozone layer in the  framework  of UNEP. 
Three meetings  for this purpose have been  held to date in 
Stockholm  and Geneva and the  negotiations continue. 
VI. CONCLUSIONS 
The current  scientific  and economic  information indicates that 
no change  in the  policy of precautionary  measures  that the 
Community  has pursued  so far is  needed. 
The Commission  will continue  to monitor  the scientific,  technical 
and economic developments  in this field in cooperation with  the 
Member States.  A reexamination  of all aspects  of the  situation  with 
a view toward  taking  the appropriate  measures  at Community  level 
could be done, under normal  circumstances,  by the end of 1985. 
(1) Decision  of the  Council  of 19.1.1982  (4132/82  ENV 4) 

ANNEX ( 
CFC 11 & 12 PRODUCTION AND SALES BY EEC PRODUCERS 1976 1982 
Tonnes CFCs 11 & 12 
1976 
I PRODUCTION  326,433 
(inc. imports) 
I Change tes 
Ifrom 1976 % 
I SALES IN EEC MARKETS (excluding sales  to co-producers) 
176,914 lAEROSOLS 
IChange tesI 
Ifrom 1976 
IREFRIGERATION  | 20,773 
Change tes| 
from 1976 % | 
FOAM PLASTICS | 42,154 
Change tes | 
from 1976 % | 
(SOLVENTS/ 4,178 
IOTHER USES 
IChange tes| 
Ifrom 1976 1 \ 
ITOTAL SALES  IN| 
I EEC MARKETS | 244,019 
I Change tesI 
Ifrom 1976 % I 
I TOT AT, EXPORTS I 
jOUTS IDE EEC | 83,578 
I Change tes| 
Ifrom 1976 Is I 
ITOTAL EEC AND | 
I EXPORT SALES | 327,597 
I Change tes| 
Ifrom 1976 % | 
I PRODUCTION 
ILESS SALES - 1,164 1977 I 1978 | 1979 I 1980 | 1981 
I I I I 1982 
319,1071 307,0331 304,2381  295,718  J 300,1441 288,9791 
I I I I I I 
- 7,3261- 19,4001-  22,195  I- 30,715 I - 26,2891- 37,454| 
• 2.2 |- 5.9 |- 6.8 |- 9.4 |- 8.1  I- 11.5 I 
I 162,5681 150,4241 136,552| 126,442  I 116,1391 111,712  I 
- 14,3461- 26,4901-  4u,362|- 50,472|- 60,7751- 65,2021 
- 8.1 I- 15.0  I- 22.8 |- 28.5 |- 34.4  I- 36.9 I 
I I I I I I 
20,2931 20,4161 20,3001  21,174| 21,451  I 21,245  I 
4801-  3571- 473I+ 4011+  678I+ 4721 
- 2.3 I- 1.7 I- 2.3 |+ 1.9 |+ 3.3 1+ 2.3 I 
I I I I I I 
45,2541 54,5241  55,788i 61  ,8591 64,0671  65,6271 
+ 3,1001+ 12,3701+ 13,6341+ 19,7051+  21,913|+ 23,4731 
+ 7.4 |+  29.3 |+ 32.3 |+ 46.7 |+ 52.0 1+ 55.7 I 
I I I I I I 
4,8711 6,0731 6,9211  7,353  I 8,108| 8,1781 
I I I I I I 
+ 6931+ 1,8951+ 2,7431+  3,1751+ 3,930|+ 4,000| 
+ 16.6 |+ 45.4 |+ 65.7 |+ 76.0 |+ 94.1 1+ 95.7 I 
232,9861 231,4371 219,5611  216,828 j 209,7651 206,7621 
11,0331- 12,5821- 24,4581-  27,191  I- 34,254|- 37,257| 
4.5 I- 5.2 |- 10.0 |- 11.1 |- 14.0 I- 15.3 | 
81 ,1871 82,2361  81 ,6361  79,361  I 88,2431 81,9991 
2,3911-  1,3421- 1,9421- 4,2171+  4,6651-  1,579| 
2.9 I- 1.6 I- 2.3 |- 5.0 |+ 5.6 |- 1.9 I 
314,1731 313,6731 301,1971 296,1891 298,0081 288,7611 
13,4241- 13,9241- 26,400|- 31,4081- 29,589|-  38,836 I 
4.1 I- 4.3 |- 8.1 |- 9.6 |- 9.0  I- 11.9 I 
4,9341- 6,6401+ 3,041!- 471|+  2,1361+ 2181 
NOTE : The 1981 and 1982 data includes  Greece whereas the 1976 data does not.