The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), through its National Ozone Unit (NOU), over the weekend concluded a two-day refresher training for technicians and trainers of refrigeration and air-conditioning at the Monrovia Vocational Training Center (MVTC), Japan Freeway.
The training, which was held in conjunction with the German Agency for International Cooperation, brought together fifteen teachers and technicians of refrigeration and air-conditioning.
Students of the MVTC’s Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Department were also attracted to the training, which was the first of a series of trainings planned to take place across the country.
Held under the theme, “Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Techniques, Safety and Best Practices”, the training considered several topics, including emphasis on the safe handling of hydrocarbon refrigerants, focus on practical learning and hands on training, proper brazing techniques and system leak prevention.
Speaking at the start of the training, Seta Marshall, National Focal Point on Montreal Protocol and Head of the National Ozone Unit, said it was crucial to train trainers and refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians as Liberia prepares to enforce obligations under the Kigali Amendment.
Marshall disclosed that the training fostered the use of new technologies, which are in line with the Kigali Amendment, and strengthens capacities in their safe use.
Liberia is a party to the Vienna Convention, which gave birth to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. It has ratified the Montreal Protocol and all of its amendments, including the Kigali Amendment, which was ratified on July 12, 2020.
The Montreal Protocol, according to Marshall, is a landmark agreement that identified the major ozone depleting chemicals and established a timetable for their eventual phase out.
“Under this protocol, the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances (ODS) is to be reduced and eventually eliminated through the development of chemical substitutes and alternative manufacturing processes,” Marshall said in a PowerPoint presentation.
On October 15, 2016, following seven years of intensive negotiations, the parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer finally reached a historic agreement at their 28th Meeting of the Parties (MOP), held in Kigali, Rwanda, to phase down production and consumption of a list of 18 Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Marshall disclosed that HFCs are commonly used alternatives to ozone depleting substances in the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry.
“HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, but they are portent Green House Gases (GHGs) with high Global Warming Potentials (GWPs), ranging from 12 to 14,800,” Marshall explained.
Prior to him, Charles Dennis, Assistant Head of the National Ozone Unit, disclosed that the workshop was in continuation of a workshop that was to be held last year but did not happen due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Dennis told participants that the training was not intended to make technicians; rather, to refresh them on new developments in the sector so that they adjust themselves.
For his part, the Dean of Students at MVTC, Samuel J. Moribah, lauded the EPA and its National Ozone Unit for the opportunity provided the students and lecturers and other technicians of refrigeration and air-conditioning industry.