The Australian Halon Management Strategy (AHMS)

The Fourth Meeting of the Parties decided in Dec. IV/25:

1. to apply the following criteria and procedure in assessing an essential use for the purposes of control measures in Article 2 of the Protocol:
   1. that a use of a controlled substance should qualify as “essential” only if:
      1. it is necessary for the health, safety or is critical for the functioning of society (encompassing cultural and intellectual aspects); and
      2. there are no available technically and economically feasible alternatives or substitutes that are acceptable from the standpoint of environment and health;
   2. that production and consumption, if any, of a controlled substance for essential uses should be permitted only if:
      1. all economically feasible steps have been taken to minimize the essential use and any associated emission of the controlled substance; and
      2. the controlled substance is not available in sufficient quantity and quality from existing stocks of banked or recycled controlled substances, also bearing in mind the developing countries’ need for controlled substances;
   3. that production, if any, for essential use, will be in addition to production to supply the basic domestic needs of the Parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Protocol prior to the phase-out of the controlled substances in those countries;
2. to request each of the Parties to nominate, in accordance with the criteria approved in paragraph 1 (a) of the present decision, any use it considers “essential”, to the Secretariat at least six months for halons and nine months for other substances prior to each Meeting of the Parties that is to decide on this issue;
3. to request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and its Technical and Economic Options Committee to develop, in accordance with the criteria in paragraphs 1 (a) and 1 (b) of the present decision, recommendations on the nominations, after consultations with experts as necessary, regarding:
   1. the essential use (substance, quantity, quality, expected duration of essential use, duration of production or import necessary to meet such essential use);
   2. economically feasible use and emission controls for the proposed essential use;
   3. sources of already produced controlled substances for the proposed essential use (quantity, quality, timing); and
   4. steps necessary to ensure that alternatives and substitutes are available as soon as possible for the proposed essential use;
4. to request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, while making its recommendations to take into account the environmental acceptability, health effects, economic feasibility, availability, and regulatory status of alternatives and substitutes;
5. to request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to submit its report, through the Secretariat, at least three months before the Meeting of the Parties in which a decision is to be taken. The subsequent reports will also consider which previously qualified essential uses should no longer qualify as essential;
6. to request the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to consider the report of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and make its recommendations to the Fifth Meeting of the Parties for halons and at the Sixth Meeting for all other substances for which an essential use is proposed;
7. that essential use controls will not be applicable to Parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Protocol until the phase-out dates applicable to those Parties.

The Seventh Meeting of the Parties decided in Dec. VII/12:

1. To recommend that all Parties not operating under Article 5 should endeavour, on a voluntary basis, to limit the emissions of halon to a minimum by:
   1. Accepting as critical those applications meeting the essential-use criteria as defined in decision IV/25, paragraph 1 (a);
   2. Limiting the use of halons in new installations to critical applications;
   3. Accepting that existing installations for critical applications may continue to use halon in the future;
   4. Considering the decommissioning of halon systems in existing installations, which are not critical applications, as quickly as technically and economically feasible;
   5. Ensuring that halons are effectively recovered;
   6. Preventing, whenever feasible, the use of halon in equipment testing and for training of personnel;
   7. Evaluating and taking into account only those substitutes and replacements of halon, for which no other more environmentally suitable ones are available;
   8. Promoting the environmentally safe destruction of halons, when they are not needed in halon banks (existing or to be created);
2. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and its Halons Technical Options Committee to prepare a report to the Eighth Meeting of the Parties to provide guidance on the above.

The Tenth Meeting of the Parties decided in Dec. X/7:

Noting that in the executive summary of its 1998 report, the Scientific Assessment Panel identifies complete elimination and destruction of halon-1211 and 1301 as the most environmentally beneficial option to enhance the recovery of the ozone layer,

Noting that the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, in its 1998 report pursuant to decision IX/21, concludes that by definition all non-critical uses of halon-1211 and 1301 can be decommissioned, taking into account the costs and benefits of such operations.,

1. To request all Parties to develop and submit to the Ozone Secretariat a national or regional strategy for the management of halons, including emissions reduction and ultimate elimination of their use;
2. To request Parties not operating under Article 5 to submit their strategies to the Ozone Secretariat by the end of July 2000;
3. In preparing such a strategy, Parties should consider issues such as:
   1. Discouraging the use of halons in new installations and equipment;
   2. Encouraging the use of halon substitutes and replacements acceptable from the standpoint of environment and health, taking into account their impact on the ozone layer, on climate change and any other global environmental issues;
   3. Considering a target date for the complete decommissioning of non-critical halon installations and equipment, taking into account an assessment of the availability of halons for critical uses;
   4. Promoting appropriate measures to ensure the environmentally safe and effective recovery, storage, management and destruction of halons;
4. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to update its assessment of the future need for halon for critical uses, in light of these strategies;
5. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to report on these matters to the Twelfth Meeting of the Parties.

The Twenty first Meeting of the Parties decided in Nov. XXI/7:

Recognizing that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) General Assembly adopted a resolution A36-12 at its 36th Session encouraging ICAO to continue collaboration with the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and its Halon Technical Options Committee (HTOC) and requesting its Secretary General to consider mandates to be effective: (1) in the 2011 timeframe, for the replacement of halon in lavatories, hand held extinguishers, engines and auxiliary power units in newly designed aircraft; (2) in the 2011 timeframe, for the replacement of halons in lavatories in new production aircraft; and (3) in the 2014 timeframe, for the replacement of halons in hand held extinguishers for new production aircraft;

Recalling that Parties must ensure that the movement of halon is consistent with their obligations under Article 4B and international agreements on waste;

Noting that the 2009 report by the Halon Technical Options Committee observed that legislative barriers preventing the free flow of recycled halon among Parties could result in halon not being available to meet future critical needs, including those of the aviation industry.  

1. To express the Parties’ continued support for the implementation of mandatory dates by when halon alternatives will be used in previously agreed upon applications of newly designed aircraft;
2. To request TEAP and its HTOC to continue to engage ICAO on this issue and to report progress on this issue to the twenty second Meeting of the Parties;
3. To encourage Parties that have implemented import and/or export restrictions of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons to consider reassessing their situation with a view towards removing barriers on the import and export of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons  to allow, wherever possible, their free movement  between Parties to enable Parties to meet current and future needs, even as Parties continue to transition to available halon alternatives;
4. To encourage Parties to refrain from destroying uncontaminated recovered, recycled, or reclaimed halons before they have considered their domestic, as well as the global long-term future needs for halons, and to consider retaining uncontaminated recovered, recycled, reclaimed halons for anticipated future needs in a manner that employs best practices for storage and maintenance, in order to minimize emissions;
5. To encourage Parties to report their assessments of current and long-term future needs for halons to the Ozone Secretariat for use by the TEAP and its HTOC in their future assessments of management of halon banks.
6. To continue to encourage Parties to inform, on a regular basis, their users of halons, including the maritime industries, the aviation sector and the military, of the need to prepare for reduced access to halons in the future and to take all actions necessary to reduce their reliance on halons.

The Twenty sixth Meeting of the Parties decided in Nov. XXVI/7:

Recognizing that the global production of halons for controlled uses was eliminated in 2009, but that some remaining uses, in particular for civil aviation, continue to rely on stocks of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons for fire safety,

Noting that, despite efforts to evaluate the extent of accessible stocks of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons, there is still uncertainty about the quantity of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons that is accessible for continuing uses, such as in civil aviation,

Recalling the 1992 International Maritime Organization ban on the use of halons in new ships and noting that ships containing halons are now being decommissioned,

Recalling also the adoption by the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization of resolutions A37-9 and A38-9, in which the Assembly expressed an urgent need to continue developing and implementing halon alternatives for civil aviation and called on manufacturers to use alternatives in lavatory fire extinguishing systems in newly designed and new production aircraft after 2011, in hand‑held fire extinguishers in such aircraft after 2016, in engine and auxiliary power unit fire‑extinguishing systems used in newly designed aircraft after 2014 and in the cargo compartments of new aircraft by a date to be determined by the Assembly in 2016,

Noting that the import and export of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons is allowed under the Montreal Protocol and that the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel has found that the current distribution of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halon stocks potentially may not align with anticipated needs for such stocks,

Recalling paragraph 3 of decision XXI/7, concerning the import and export of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons,

Taking note of the progress report of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel provided to the parties before the thirty-fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group, including information on alternatives,

1. To encourage parties, on a voluntary basis, to liaise, through their national ozone officers, with their national civil aviation authorities to gain an understanding of how halons are being recovered, recycled or reclaimed to meet purity standards for aviation use and supplied to air carriers to meet ongoing civil aviation needs and on any national actions being taken to expedite the replacement of halons in civil aviation uses as called for by the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization in its resolutions A37-9 and A38-9;
2. To also encourage parties, on a voluntary basis, to submit information provided in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present decision to the Ozone Secretariat by 1 September 2015;
3. To invite parties, on a voluntary basis, to reassess any national import and export restrictions other than licensing requirements with a view to facilitating the import and export of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons and the management of stocks of such halons with the aim of enabling all parties to meet remaining needs in accordance with domestic regulations even as they make the transition to halon alternatives;
4. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, through its Halons Technical Options Committee:
   1. To continue to liaise with the International Civil Aviation Organization to facilitate the transition to halon alternatives, to approach the International Maritime Organization to estimate the amount and purity of halon 1211 and 1301 available from the breaking of ships and to report information on global stocks of recovered halons to the parties in its 2015 progress report;
   2. To report on existing and emerging alternatives for halons, including information on their characteristics and their rate of adoption, in particular for aviation uses;
5. To request the Ozone Secretariat to report to the parties, prior to the thirty-seventh meeting of the Open-ended Working Group, any information provided by parties in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present decision;

The Montreal Protocol provides for approval of new halon production and imports where an essential use exemption is approved by the parties to the Montreal Protocol. In Decision IV/25 the Montreal Protocol provides guidance on 'essential' use. A use should qualify as essential only if:

1. it is necessary for the health, safety or is critical for the functioning of society (encompassing cultural and intellectual aspects); and
2. there are no available technically and economically feasible alternatives or substitutes that are acceptable from the standpoint of environment and health.

In the same decision the Montreal Protocol also provides guidance for consideration of new production:

1. that production and consumption, if any, of a controlled substance for essential uses should be permitted only if:
   1. all economically feasible steps have been taken to minimize the essential use and any associated emission of the controlled substance; and
   2. the controlled substance is not available in sufficient quantity and quality from existing stocks of banked or recycled controlled substances, also bearing in mind the developing countries’ need for controlled substances

The Montreal Protocol provides further guidance on halon essential uses and how this might limit halon emissions, in Decision VII/12:

1. To recommend that all Parties not operating under Article 5 should endeavour, on a voluntary basis, to limit the emissions of halon to a minimum by:
   1. Accepting as critical those applications meeting the essential-use criteria as defined in decision IV/25, paragraph 1 (a);
   2. Limiting the use of halons in new installations to critical applications;
   3. Accepting that existing installations for critical applications may continue to use halon in the future;
   4. Considering the decommissioning of halon systems in existing installations, which are not critical applications, as quickly as technically and economically feasible;
   5. Ensuring that halons are effectively recovered;
   6. Preventing, whenever feasible, the use of halon in equipment testing and for training of personnel;
   7. Evaluating and taking into account only those substitutes and replacements of halon, for which no other more environmentally suitable ones are available;
   8. Promoting the environmentally safe destruction of halons, when they are not needed in halon banks (existing or to be created);

As at 2018 no applications had been made to the Montreal Protocol for a halon essential use exemption, highlighting the success of halon banking arrangements (i.e. recovery and re-use of used halon). If essential use applications are made to the Montreal Protocol the process is likely to be similar for essential and critical uses of other ozone depleting chemicals. Applications for exemptions are made annually and approved for one year at a time, based in part on technical advice from the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, the Montreal Protocol’s independent technical experts.