Halon dumps: a data point

From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_mcmanis.com>
Date: Thu Sep 14 11:13:23 2000

At 11:44 PM 9/13/00 -0400, you wrote:
> Have the patents that cover Halon expired? I've heard that Freon (which
>used to be covered by patents) isn't nearly as dangerous as it's made out to
>be, and that the recent legislation to have it banned came about just after
>the patents expired (and thus the major chemical companies would actually
>face competition).

It isn't patents, it is the CFC treaty (Osaks?) that bans the production
(first) and then use (second) of CFCs based on their alleged, but unproven,
impact on the ozone layer surrounding the earth. Note that I do not dispute
that there is a gap in the ozone layer around the earth, only that no one
has yet given anything more than conjecture on why it exists, and since we
don't have historical data on its existence (or lack thereof) we don't yet
have anyway of proving or disproving said conjectures, but something that
_was_ a provable way of saving _actual human lives_ was banned because of
it. </soapbox>

--Chuck
Received on Thu Sep 14 2000 - 11:13:23 BST