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Estonia received revaluation equipment for azone-depleting fire extinguishing gases worth 85 000 USD

In May, Estonia received equipment for collection and revaluation of ozone-depleting fire extinguishing gases with a value of nearly 85,000 USD. The equipment will be used in Tallinn (Suur-Sõjamäe) where a collection and revaluation centre for halons (fire extinguishing gases) for the Baltic states  will be established within the framework of a UNDP funded project.

With the aim of introducing the equipment to Estonian experts and distributing information concerning the expected movement of fire extinguishing gases within the Baltic states, a seminar on the use of halons and alternative fire extinguishing gases as well as long-term development prospectives in this area will be held on May 31 in the conference centre of the Radisson SAS hotel.

Representatives of the Ministry of the Environment, the Rescue Department, the Waterways Department, the Environmental Inspectorate, and companies marketing and designing fire extinguishing equipment will participate in the seminar.
 
According to Ms. Inari Truumaa, Head of Ozone Division of the Estonian Centre for Environmental Research, the objective of establishing the halons collection and revaluation centre is achievement of control over the use of halons that are highly damaging to the ozone layer, and gradual reduction of the use of halons.

Halons are fire extinguishing gases that are used at objects with a required high level of fire security - mostly on vessels and airplanes. The largest volume of halon in Estonia is stored in the Tallinn television tower which is a site of high fire risk. Halon used for fire extinguishing prevents the access of oxygen to fire and reduces the burning temperature.

Halons need to be revaluated after every four years on the average as the gas stored in a tube or storage tank reacts with the metal of the tank to some extent. In the case of a functioning revaluation system there will be no need to purchase additional volumes of ozone depleting halons to a country and the existing volumes can be used repeatedly.
 
A similar seminar will be held in Latvia and Lithuania in June.


For additional information please contact:
Ms. Inari Truumaa
Head, Ozone Division of the Estonian Centre for Environmental Research
Telephone: (+372) 611 2931, (-372) 56-469 328