"Fenceline monitoring by the Environmental Investigation Agency furthers the call to close industry loopholes under an international environmental agreement."
"U.S. chemical manufacturer Honeywell International released chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—climate super-pollutants and ozone depleting substances that are banned except for limited uses under an international environmental agreement—according to a report released Oct. 10 by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, D.C.
The findings highlight exemptions granted to the chemical industry in the U.S. and internationally that allow for ongoing emissions that threaten efforts to curb climate change and delay the full recovery of the ozone hole.
EIA monitored chemical concentrations at the fenceline of a chemical plant owned by Honeywell in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The group detected CFC-113 and CFC-114, man-made chemicals that are among the most potent greenhouse gases and ozone depleting compounds ever assessed. Honeywell has reported increasing emissions of both substances to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in recent years.
However, EIA also detected CFC-13, a chemical that Honeywell had not reported to the EPA as having emitted since 2018. The group also detected two hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases that the company did not report to the EPA in recent years, including in 2022 when EIA detected the chemicals in the air outside the facility."
Phil McKenna reports for Inside Climate News October 16, 2023.
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