MONTREAL PROTOCOL ON SUBSTANCES THAT DEPLETE THE OZONE LAYER U N E P United Nations Environment Programme Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee 1998 Assessment of Alternatives to Methyl Bromide United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) 1998 Assessment of Alternatives to Methyl Bromide Montreal Protocol On Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) 1998 Assessment of Alternatives to Methyl Bromide Co-ordination and organisation: Tom Batchelor Final editing and composition: Tom Batchelor Collation, editing and layout: Janice Miller Reproduction: * UNEP Nairobi Ozone Secretariat Date: 30 October 1998 Under certain conditions, copies of this report are available from: United Nations Environment Programme Ozone Secretariat PO Box 30552 Nairobi, KENYA This Report is also available in portable document format from: http://www.org.teap.org No copyright is involved. This publication may be freely copied, abstracted and cited with due acknowledgment of the source of the material. ISBN: 92-807-1703-8 MONTREAL PROTOCOL ON SUBSTANCES THAT DEPLETE THE OZONE LAYER U N E P United Nations Environment Programme Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee 1998 Assessment of Alternatives to Methyl Bromide Pursuant to Article 6 of the Montreal Protocol, Decision IV/13 (1993) by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol DISCLAIMER The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); the Technology and Economics Assessment Panel (TEAP) co-chairs and members; the Technical and Economics Options Committees chairs, co-chairs and members; and the companies and organisations that employ them, do not endorse the performance, worker safety or environmental acceptability of any of the technical options discussed in this report. Every industrial operation requires consideration of worker safety and proper disposal of contaminants and waste products. Moreover, continued collection of data pertaining to toxicity testing and evaluation, will lead to more information on health and safety effects of alternatives becoming available to assist in the process of selecting options, discussed in this document. UNEP; TEAP co-chairs and members; the Technical and Economics Options Committees chairs, co-chairs and members; and the companies and organisations that employ them, in furnishing or distributing this information, do not make any warranty or representation, either expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness or utility; nor do they assume any liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from the use or reliance upon, any information, material, or procedure contained herein, including but not limited to any claims regarding health, safety, environmental effects or fate, or performance, made by the source of this information. Mention of any company, association or product in this document is for information purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation of any such company, association or product, either expressed or implied by UNEP; TEAP co-chairs and members; the Technical and Economics Options Committees chairs, co-chairs and members; and the companies and organisations that employ them. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MBTOC gratefully acknowledges the government and private organisation, consultancy and company support and for most members their voluntary personal contributions, that allowed MBTOC members to attend meetings to contribute to this report. MBTOC is also very grateful to UNEP for providing financial support to developing country members of MBTOC that also allowed them to attend each meeting. MBTOC is indebted to the hard work of the co-chairs and sub-committee chairs for discussing, evaluating and deliberating with sub-committee members the merits or otherwise of each alternative and collating these discussions into the chapters presented in this report. MBTOC is indebted to host institutions around the world for administrative support for three meetings including: staff from CSIRO-Canberra (especially Dr Jonathan Banks); Institute Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II-Morocco (especially Professor Mohamed Besri); and USDA-Honolulu (especially Dr Ken Vick and Dr Jack Armstrong). Finally, Dr Tom Batchelor acknowledges the support of the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, which permitted his involvement with MBTOC and TEAP. List of Contents Chapter 1 : Executive summary 1.1 Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee..................................................................................1 1.2 Mandate ..........................................................................................................................................1 1.3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................2 1.3.1 General features of methyl bromide ...................................................................................................................2 1.3.2 Consumption......................................................................................................................................................2 1.3.3 Methyl bromide control measures.......................................................................................................................3 1.4 Alternatives to Methyl Bromide .........................................................................................................3 1.4.1 Definition of an alternative ..................................................................................................................................3 1.4.2 Alternatives to methyl bromide for soil treatments ..............................................................................................4 1.4.3 Alternatives to methyl bromide for durable commodities and structures.............................................................5 1.4.4 Alternatives to methyl bromide for perishable commodities................................................................................7 1.5 Developing Country Perspective .......................................................................................................9 1.6 Quarantine and Pre-shipment.........................................................................................................10 1.7 Emissions Reduction......................................................................................................................11 1.8 Technology Transfer.......................................................................................................................12 1.9 The Future .....................................................................................................................................13 Chapter 2 : Introduction 2.1 Methyl Bromide ..............................................................................................................................15 2.2 MBTOC Mandate............................................................................................................................15 2.3 Committee Composition .................................................................................................................16 2.4 UNEP Assessments .......................................................................................................................17 2.5 Definition of an Alternative..............................................................................................................17 2.6 New Information Since 1994...........................................................................................................17 2.7 Report Structure.............................................................................................................................18 2.8 References.....................................................................................................................................20 Chapter 3 : Methyl bromide production, consumption and limitations on use 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................21 3.2 Uses of Methyl Bromide..................................................................................................................21 3.3 Production and Supply ...................................................................................................................22 3.4 Consumption and Usage ................................................................................................................23 3.4.1 Comparison of production with consumption ...................................................................................................23 3.4.2 Usage by sector ...............................................................................................................................................24 3.4.3 Application methods.........................................................................................................................................24 3.4.3.1 Soil fumigation ................................................................................................................................................24 3.4.3.1.1 Manual application.........................................................................................................................................24 Contents i MBTOC 1998 Assessment 3.4.3.1.2 Mechanised injection