Accra, Aug 20, – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has won an international award for work done to phase out substances that destroy the ozone layer. The ozone layer protects human beings, animals and plants from the harmful effects of the sun’s ultra-violent rays. An official statement issued in Accra today said the National Ozone Unit of the EPA will receive an award for its outstanding and exemplary efforts at implementing the Montreal Protocol in Africa. The executive director of the UN Environment Programme, Mrs Elizabeth Dowdeswell, will present the award during the inauguration of the 10th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol to be held in September in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Protocol, among others, commits nations to phase out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) . In response to this, Ghana established a national scheme on code of good practices in refrigeration, including recovery and recycling of refrigerants and corresponding monitoring scheme. It established a national refrigeration demonstration centre at the Accra Technical Training Centre and a certification scheme for trained refrigeration technicians and instructors. The National Ozone Unit reviewed various documents on refrigeration for the various United Nations bodies. It also implemented a nation-wide awareness programme for the refrigeration and foam sectors. Through these efforts the foam manufacturing sector has so far replaced 24 tonnes of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – 11 with methylene chloride as a blowing agent.
