The Chinese government has refuted allegations that China is the source of large-scale illegal use of CFC11.
Speaking at a press conference, yesterday, at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Liu Tingliang, deputy director of the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, said that China had not found a large-scale illegal use of CFC11 as a blowing agent and that the recent accusations were not supported by market analysis.
He was responding to last week’s report that atmospheric observations from monitoring stations in Korea and Japan were said to have confirmed that eastern China, and in particular the provinces of Shandong and Hebei, were responsible for upwards of 60% of the recent rise in CFC11 emissions.
“The China Polyurethane Foam Industry Association does not support the conclusions of the article through market analysis of the production of foam products and the use of various foaming agents,” Liu Tingliang said.
“We have also noticed that some experts pointed out that the article has great uncertainty in research methods and accuracy, and it is worth discussing the important conclusions such as emissions and source location.
“We expect scientists to be willing to actively assist scientists in conducting more in-depth and comprehensive research on the causes of CFC11’s accidental emissions,” he added.
Concerns about the sudden and unexpected rise in CFC11 emissions was first highlighted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in May last year.
It found that emissions of the ozone-depleting gas, once widely used as a refrigerant and foam blowing agent had been rising since 2013, with East Asia accused of being the likely source.
A subsequent report by green group the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found that the illegal production and use of the long-banned ozone-depleting chemical was “common practice” in China. The EIA said it had uncovered evidence of 18 different companies in 10 Chinese provinces, using CFC11 as a blowing agent in the manufacture of insulation foams.
