Fact Sheet - Essential Use Allocations for 2007

Action

In accordance with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) and the Clean Air Act, EPA is allocating essential use allowances to permit U.S. companies to obtain limited quantities of certain ozone-depleting substances (ODS) that have been phased out of production.
This action finalizes an allocation of essential use allowances for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to U.S. pharmaceutical companies for the manufacture of metered dose inhalers (MDIs) for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The allocations are based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s determination that 167.0 metric tonnes (MT) of CFCs are necessary for use in MDIs in calendar year 2007.

Background

Essential use allowances enable a person to obtain a controlled class I ODS as part of an exemption to the regulatory ban on the production and import of these chemicals, which became effective on January 1, 1996 .
Under the Montreal Protocol, exemptions may be granted for uses that are determined by the Parties to be "essential." Decision IV/25, taken by the Parties to the Protocol in 1992, established criteria for determining whether a specific use should be approved as essential, and set forth the international process for making determinations of essentiality.
EPA allocates essential use allowances for exempted production or import of a specific quantity of a class I ODS solely for the designated essential purpose.

For Further Information

Additional information on the phaseout of ODSs can be found here.
For more information about this action, please contact Kirsten Cappel by phone at (202) 343-9556 or by email at cappel.kirsten@epa.gov .