2004/232/EC: Commission Decision of 3 March 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the use of halon 2402 (notified under document number C(2004) 639)
Date: 2004-03-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: greenhouse gas, marketing restriction, stratospheric pollutant

L 71/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.3.2004

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 3 March 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council with
regard to the use of halon 2402

(notified under document number C(2004) 639)

(2004/232/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the Euro-
pean Parliament and of the Council on substances that deplete
the ozone layer (1), and in particular Article 4(4)(iv) thereof,

Whereas:

The replacement of halon fire-fighting equipment with
alternative fire protection agents needs to take into
account the availability of technically and economically
feasible alternatives or technologies that are acceptable
from the point of view of environment and health. Refit
activities to install equipment
that does not rely on
halon for fire and explosion protection in military appli-
cations needs to be scheduled in a way that avoids unac-
ceptably compromising the defense capability of
the
States that will accede to the European Union. Special
budgetary consideration and a period of time to convert
to an alternative are often needed to adapt alternative
fire-protection agents to perform safely and effectively.

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Commission has, during the course of the review
provided for in Article 4(4)(iv) of Regulation (EC) No
2037/2000, and after consultation with Member States,
government representatives of the States that will accede
to the European Union on 1 May 2004 and stake-
holders, come to the following findings with regard to
the use of halon 2402.

(5)

The manufacture of halon 2402 in developed countries
ceased on 1 January 1994 when the parties to the
Montreal Protocol agreed to halt production in devel-
oped countries. Since that
time, any halon 2402
required has had to be obtained from specialised storage
facilities which have stored halon that has been replaced
by alternatives.

Halon 2402 has wide-ranging application in the States
that will accede to the European Union on 1 May 2004
for fire and explosion suppression in the military and
non-military sectors where it is used, for example,
in
nuclear facilities as well as terrestrial, marine and air
transportation.

Article 4(4)(v) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000
requires halon installed in equipment that is not listed as
a critical use in Annex VII to have been decommissioned
by 31 December 2003 and the halon recovered in
accordance with Article 16. In order to qualify for a
critical-use exemption that would allow the continued
use of halon 2402 in the countries that will accede to
the European Union after that date, Annex VII to Regu-
lation (EC) No 2037/2000 should be amended to allow
this fire-extinguishing agent to be used for a range of
applications.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

(1) OJ L 244, 29.9.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1804/2003 (OJ L 265 16.10.2003, p. 1).

(7)

The measures provided in this Decision are in accord-
ance with the opinion of the Committee established by
Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000,

10.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 71/29

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 is amended as set out in the Annex to this Decision.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 3 March 2004.

For the Commission

Margot WALLSTRÖM

Member of the Commission

In Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 the following is added:

ANNEX

‘Use of halon 2402 only in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia
and Slovenia:

— in aircraft for the protection of crew compartments, engine nacelles, cargo bays and dry bays and fuel tank

inerting,

— in military land vehicles and naval vessels for the protection of spaces occupied by personnel and engine

compartments,

— for the making inert of occupied spaces where flammable liquid and/or gas release could occur in the military

and oil, gas and petrochemical sectors, and in existing cargo ships,

— for the making inert of existing manned communication and command centres of the armed forces or others,

essential for national security,

— for the making inert of spaces where there may be a risk of dispersion of radioactive matter,

— in hand-held fire extinguishers and fixed extinguisher equipment for engines for use on board aircraft,

— in fire extinguishers essential to personal safety used for initial extinguishing by fire brigades,

— in military and police fire extinguishers for use on persons.’