The combined European production facilities make use of a total of about 15.3 tonnes
of HCFC's. Every year a fraction of this quantity is released as a result of leakages,
maintenance and replacement work. This resulted in a loss of 0.8 tonnes of HCFC's in
1999, an improvement in comparison with the losses of about 1 tonne in both 1997 and
1998. New construction projects make use of alternatives with a reduced environ
mental impact. In 1999 the production facilities used a total of 7 tonnes of halons (fire-
extinguishers). The continues decrease of halons in use is caused by replacing halon
extinguishers by less harmful alternatives, such as argon.
EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
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