Ozone Protection Debate Gets Off to a Fiery Start

The debate over whether San Diego County will regulate the emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals got off to a fiery start Thursday, as environmentalists and businessmen gathered to discuss the county’s proposed curbs on the use of halons and chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs.

About 90 people attended the public meeting, at which Air Pollution Control District officials had hoped to field suggestions to help polish 16 draft proposals they had intended to present to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for approval March 27. By meeting’s end, however, the officials said they would consider postponing that date to gather more information.

Among other things, the proposals would prohibit the sale of certain non-essential aerosol products, ban the use of foam food-packaging containers when alternatives are available and increase restrictions on businesses that work with refrigerants and solvents.

Local environmental groups said the APCD’s proposals could be tougher and more focused. Diane Takvorian, executive director of the Environmental Health Coalition, said it is not enough to rely on industries to police themselves.

“The evidence is fairly clear that all industries are not going to voluntarily comply,” she said. “The time for study is basically over. We should take action.”

Representatives of the automotive, electronics and firefighting industries that use CFCs and halons, meanwhile, said the proposals are misguided and under-researched. Many requested a chance to suggest revisions.

“I am not a county supervisor, and you should be thankful for that,” said Ervin Rubey of the San Diego County Auto Recyclers Assn. He said he is angry that input from the affected industries had not been solicited earlier. “If I were and, you brought this intellectual vomit to me, I would throw it back in your face.”

Al Thornton, a spokesman for Great Lakes Chemicals Corp., a Louisiana-based halon manufacturer, agreed.

“I think a lot of people here have written that March date down and intend to show up with their guns,” he said, referring to the planned March 27 presentation to the county supervisors.

By the workshop’s end, APCD officials said they would consider postponing their presentation in order to hold a second workshop with those industries that would be most affected by the restrictions.

But Paul Sidhu, a deputy director of the APCD, chastised those industry representatives who are “saying San Diego shouldn’t do anything because their efforts will not solve the problem. It’s a collective effort. You can’t just pass the buck.”

“I don’t think the idea is to close businesses down,” he added. “But, if there are alternatives, we want you to use them.”

CFCs are widely used as a coolant in refrigerators and air-conditioning units and as a solvent in industrial processes. Halons are used exclusively in firefighting equipment.

Many scientists agree that both CFCs and halons have caused severe depletion of the Earth’s atmospheric ozone layer that, if allowed to continue, could cause more skin cancer cases and gradual global warming.