Refrigerators under construction

CFC Smuggling into Europe Exposed

Evidence of smuggling of chlorofluorocarbons has been published by the Environmental Investigation Agency, which is now calling for all sales of the chemical to be banned in Europe.

Production of CFCs has already been banned within Europe, because of the damage they do to the ozone layer, allowing more of the sun's harmful radiation to reach the earth's surface. This can cause skin cancer, which kills more than 2,000 people in Britain each year.

Back problems: skin cancer risk from the sun

But CFCs remain a cheaper and more effective chemical for refrigerators and air conditioning systems than their greener alternatives. And large quantities are still made in developing countries such as India and China, which have until 2010 to phase them out.

Video footage taken by American Customs Officers showed the arrest of two men suspected of smuggling CFCs in a back room in Miami. The Environmental Investigation Agency says a recent undercover operation proves that smuggers are importing the chemical to Europe on a huge scale.

The European Commission is expected to back the call for a European ban on sales when governments who want further action on the issue meet in Montreal next week.

RELATED SITES

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• Environmental Investigation Agency
• Greenpeace paper on Refrigeration and Ozone