By John Emmanuel

September 15, 1998 - St. Lucia is moving speedily at meeting its obligations under the Montreal Protocol, in phasing out the use of Ozone Depleting Substances, chief among them are Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)

Under the Protocol, countries must meet definite time frames within which certain targets must be reached, in terms of reducing the consumption of Ozone depleting substances.  Towards this end, the curtains came down here on the weekend, on the first in a series of workshops on Phasing out Ozone Depleting Substances.

"We have found through a series of surveys that the main consumption of refrigerants in St. Lucia along with the main releases to the atmosphere comes during servicing of cars and other household appliances. Therefore the training of technicians in recovery and recycling is an important part of what we must do if we are to meet our targets under the Protocol," said Bishnu Tulsie - Energy, Science and Technology Officer attached to the Ministry of Planning.

Tulsie, says because of the space limitations only ten technicians from the major services agencies on the island were accommodated at the weekend workshop.   An additional 12 other workshops are to follow exposing some one hundred and twenty technicians to the new technology and training.

According to Tulsie, although application of the new technology cost more, government has already agreed in principal to offer a package of incentives, aimed at encouraging technicians to acquire the new equipment.

The workshop was conducted through the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and is expected to take its place on the school’s curriculum.