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Customs to get devices for detecting Ozone fiends

by Tharika Goonathilake

Sri Lanka Customs will be provided with special high-tech identifiers capable of detecting Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) smuggled through refrigeration and air conditioning imports.

The identifiers will be made available next week as part of a worldwide clampdown on the illegal trade of equipment containing ODS, responsible for destroying the Earth's ozone layer.

"The move will help efforts to curb the mass-scale smuggling of ODS such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to developing nations," the Environment Ministry Montreal Protocol Unit Head Dr. W.L. Sumathipala told the `Daily News' yesterday.

He said that around 20,000 tonnes of ODS are traded illegally worldwide every year, which undermines efforts to phase out ODS.

"ODS is responsible for destroying the Earth's ozone layer, which shields the Earth from the sun's deadly ultra-violet rays. The thinning of the layer can increase incidence of deadly melanoma, skin cancers and cataracts," Dr. Sumathipala said.

According to him, although the ODS phase-out targets have been set out under the Montreal Protocol, a landmark agreement seeking cooperation from its 180 signatory states, this ban has created a black market especially within developing countries.

This equipment will help detect ODS at entry points, he said.

As part of this campaign, the Environment Ministry's Montreal Unit also trained custom officers on the use of high-tech detection gear, customs coding systems and information exchange especially with other countries.

The training programme has been initiated through the Ozone Layer Protection Multilateral Fund, the United Nations Environment Program and the World Customs Organisation.

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