Leary Myers (left), chief executive officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency, is the focus of attention of Christopher Corbin (centre), of the United Nations Environment Programme's regional coordinating unit, and Devon Rowe, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Environment. Occasion was the opening ceremony for the Montreal Protocol Regional Workshop on alternative technologies for the air conditioning and refrigeration sector at the Knutsford Court Hotel, St. Andrew, yesterday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

The Government is now in the final stage of developing an ozone act that will govern refrigeration and air conditioning technicians and seek to stamp out the use of ozone-depleting substances.

The ozone layer naturally shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.

According to Devon Rowe, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Environ-ment, the ozone act will directly assist in the implementation of the code of practice that is to be adhered to by these technicians.

The announcement was made yesterday at the opening ceremony for a regional workshop on ozone-friendly technologies for the air conditioning and refrigeration sector, held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston.

Mr. Rowe said the act was currently before the Chief Parlia-mentary Council and would be going through the necessary process before it becomes law.

He said the act will require a mandatory certification and licensing regime for refrigeration and air conditioning technicians.

"Technicians will be required to be trained, certified and licensed in the safe handling, use and disposal of ozone-depleting substances," he said.

Penalties

He added that failure to meet these standards will lead to several penalties, which the Permanent Secretary was hesitant to reveal.

However, public education campaigns will be carried out to inform technicians of the legislation to give them a chance to comply with the rules.

Fifteen Caribbean countries, along with the United States, were represented at the Montreal Protocol Regional Workshop which was a collaboration of the United Nations Environment Programme regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Government of Jamaica.

Jamaica was chosen to host the event due to the country's role in completely phasing out CFCs and the cessation of imports of products containing CFCs since January this year.

CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, are chemical compounds which were developed in the early 1930s and are used in a variety of industrial, commercial, and household applications. These substances are non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive with other chemical compounds. They have been implicated in the destruction of the ozone layer.

The country is now ahead in the Caribbean in the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances.