Halons Technical Options Committee

8.4Local Banks and Emissions of Halon 1211 and Halon 1301

New and updated data on the emissions of halon 1211 and 1301 for NW Europe, using the methodology described in Greally, B. R., et al. (2007), Observations of 1,1-difluoroethane (HFC-152a) at AGAGE and SOGE monitoring stations in 1994–2004 and derived global and regional emission estimates, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D06308, doi: 10.1029/ 2006JD007527), have been obtained in 2010. The data are multiplied by a factor of 1.6 based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to extrapolate from NW Europe to the whole of the European Union. The results are provided in Table 8-9 below and show that emissions of both halon 1211 and 1301 either remained relatively constant or increased during the period when non-critical halon systems had to be removed from service and halons properly disposed of in accordance with European Regulation (EC) No. 2037/2000, existing at that time. The regulation limited the use of halon to only very specific critical uses listed in Annex VII of that regulation.

Table 8-9: Estimated European Emissions, MT, using methodologies described by Greally, B.R., et al. (2007) and in the Decision XX/8 Task Force Report

Year	Halon 1301 (MT)	Halon 1211 (MT)
1995		960 ± 190
1996		930 ± 180
1997		790 ± 140
1998		750 ± 93
1999	380 ± 58	730 ± 100
2000	390 ± 77	660 ± 130
2001	380 ± 90	560 ± 77
2002	420 ± 120	540 ± 62
2003	560 ± 150	580 ± 80
2004	530 ± 240	560 ± 150
2005	310 ± 86	420 ± 62
2006	240 ± 29	400 ± 43
2007	250 ± 37	380 ± 54
2008	270 ± 48	360 ± 38

The installed quantities or bank of halons reported by the European Commission for all Critical Uses in all 27 EU Member States for the year 2006 total approximately 950 MT of halon 1301, 250 MT of halon 1211 and 60 MT of halon 2402. The average emissions of halon 1301 in Table 8-9 is 240 MT in 2006, 250 MT in 2007 and 270 MT in 2008. Assuming that only critical uses remain in the EU, all these emissions are from those critical uses. Comparing the emissions with the reported installed quantities in critical uses gives an average emissions rate for halon 1301 of 25% in 2006, 26% in 2007, and 28% in 2008 – extremely high and unsustainable emission rates. The same calculation cannot be performed for halon 1211, because the emissions in 2006, 2007 and 2008 are higher than the reported quantities of critical uses. Therefore, it appears that there are additional quantities of halons either installed, in storage and/or discarded that are also contributing to the estimated annual halon emissions.

It is possible to estimate the smallest size of the bank of halons that would lead to these emissions by using the lower end of the emission estimate from Table 8-9 and dividing that value by the higher end of the average emission rate previously reported. For halon 1301, the highest average emission rate is 3% based on the average of 2% ±1%. For 2006, the lowest emission is 211 MT (240 MT–29 MT), for 2007 it is 213 MT (250 MT–37 MT) and for 2008 it is 222 MT (270 MT–48 MT). The estimated smallest bank of halon 1301 is 7,000 MT in 2006 and 2007, and 7,300 MT in 2008 for all 27 EU countries. This is consistent with the HTOC model estimates of an average of approximately 6,000 MT for 2006–2008. Similarly for halon 1211, the highest average emission rate is 6% based on an average of 4%±2%. Performing a similar calculation for halon 1211 results in an installed base that much smaller than the 15,000 MT projected in the HTOC model. However, it is also possible to estimate the largest possible bank of halons that would lead to these emissions by using the higher end of the emission estimate from Table 8-9 and dividing that value by the lower end of the average emission rate previously reported. This yields a possible bank larger than the 15,000 MT projected in the HTOC model. Therefore, for both halon 1301 and halon 1211 the estimated installed base within Europe appears to be much larger than the reported quantities contained within the European Union Critical Uses.

A publication in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, provided 2004–2006 measurements of ODS and their alternatives from the US and Mexico. The results indicated that halon 1211 emissions from the U.S. were 600 (300–800) MT/yr. and Mexico were 100 (0–300) MT/yr. The results for the U.S. match well with the HTOC model estimate of 600 MT/yr. emissions. The emissions for Mexico appear to be in line with estimating techniques that calculate usage and emissions based on GDP. The results for halon 1301 were not able to be determined. These findings may point to the trend of reduced halon emissions where halon has it highest market value. This is consistent with the measured very low losses in Japan and the potentially higher emissions in Europe where halon in non-critical uses has lost market value and may in fact be a financial liability.