Ozone depleting refrigerants seized at Cebu port

More than a hundred tanks of illegally imported refrigerants were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu.

This includes several tanks of Freon 12, a brand R-12 ( Dichlorodifluoromethane), a substance banned since 2010 because of its ozone depleting properties.

Also in the same shipment were other variants of refrigerants that are not banned but were still seized by the BOC because it lacked importation clearance like the pre-shipment declaration required for ozone depleting substances from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“The shipment arrived in Cebu Port last August. Under their documents, they declared that the shipment only contained shoes and bags. But during the physical inspection, other items were seen including the boxes of refrigerants,” said Conrado Abarintos, Assessment Division Acting Chief ofthe BOC Port of Cebu.

R-12 popularly known under the brand Freon 12 is a Chlorofluorocarbon or CFC whose use has been banned under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

The shipment was consigned to Riddle Enterprises which is based in Binondo, Manila.

Each of the cartons has two 13.6-kilogram cylinders of refrigerants or a total of 106.

An inspection was done by the EMB 7 yesterday morning as part of the training they conducted with BOC officials from Regions 6, 7, and 8 on monitoring and control of illegal trade of Hyrdo Chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and other alternatives.

He said most producers of refrigerants are in China and some are in India.

“The Montreal Protocol, which the Philippines signed in September 14, 1988, was said to have helped reduce the size of the hole in the ozone layer that protects humans and other organisms against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation,” said Eddie Llamedo, spokesperson of DENR 7.